Dragon's Fire 37 of 52
by Echowarrior
Summary: The Quest for the Cyber Planet Keys kicks into full gear as a team led by Overhaul heads for Animatros. What they expected was trouble from the planet's governor, Scourge - what they didn't expect was the return of Nemesis Prime!


Dragon's Fire

A Transformers: Armada Story

By William Rendfeld

"Your drink."

"Thanks."

Her mind more than a little distracted after what she'd seen and heard, Headline took her mug and slowly turned it around. Normally, being in her preferred booth at Maccadam's with her favorite drink was enough to help improve her spirits… although this time they didn't seem to be helping.

A chime at the door, and her server immediately turned to the new arrival. "Welcome to Maccadam's Old Oil House. Do you...?"

"I'm expected. I'll have what she's having."

The femme's optics watched as the mech took a seat in her booth, right across from her, the normally cheery Autobot looking glum. She hated seeing any of her friends like this, especially this one. After all, this was the mech who cheered you up, not the other way around. Besides, what else do you expect from someone named Bumblebee?

The two remained silent for several kliks, the yellow Autobot's drink arriving for him before they both spoke at the same time.

"I'm sor–"

They both smiled despite themselves.

"You start," Headline suggested.

Bumblebee nursed his mug for a moment. "I'm sorry, Headline. I'm sorry for not telling you about everything, for not trusting you with it, and for you being dragged into Prime's office just for trying to find out what was really going on. Some head of Autobot Intelligence I am, not being smart enough to think you'd keep the story under wraps. I must be–"

"Doing your job," the journalist interrupted. "You weren't authorized to tell me. If you had, you'd have been in trouble with your superiors. I'm not angry with you, Bumbles, especially when you're doing the right thing." She took a sip of her own drink. "I'm just sorry for going over your head like that. That's my problem right there – I always go too far to get a story."

The smaller Autobot gave her an uneasy look. "You've got Live Shot on your mind again." Headline barely glanced at him before he continued, "What happened to him was anything but your fault. He chose to go in with you to help, to be there and get that footage. It doesn't make what happened to him any less of a tragedy, but it doesn't make it your fault either."

The femme studied him briefly and broke into a small smile. "And you are far from stupid." She raised her mug. "To having faith in your judgment."

"To never giving up."

The two mugs gave a hearty clang as they touched, and the two downed half of their toast.

"So, now that I'm in, is there anything you can tell me for when I can let the word out?"

Bumblebee tapped a finger thoughtfully. "Well, I heard something about a computer bug from Scattorshot..."

* * *

Diana was an archaeologist, plain and simple. Her job was to discover relics of the past, ancient civilizations, and help her generation – as well future generations – understand those who came before. Despite the fact that she occasionally dressed like the most famous, albeit fictional, example of her profession, she often went through great pains to remind people of how her field really worked – there were rarely temples hidden in the jungle laden with traps, the artifacts she found never had any supernatural powers, and only on a few occasions had her life been actually put in danger. While Indiana Jones was a representation of archaeology, it was more of how it used to be rather than how it actually is presently.

Although truthfully speaking, that line of work was hardly among the safest, especially for her fellow archaeologists in the Middle East and South America. And right now, Diana felt that she'd probably be much better off in a library than where she currently was. The Animatros team found themselves in a massive room with an enormous skylight providing natural lighting for several pieces of computer equipment arrayed around them, intermixed with stone walls that would impress many masons, unlit torches placed upon them as if awaiting nightfall. Guarding the exit behind them were a pair of Decepticons, one short and colored grey and green and the other larger with yellow and purple coloring, and before them stood their host.

"So these are whom Optimus Prime sends to my world." Towering over the shorter members was Animatros' governor, the Decepticon warrior better known as Scourge. While his voice was almost deep like Optimus', it lacked that sense of comfort the Autobot commander's voice held, and the gruffness wasn't like Scavenger's rough affection. "A berserker, an assassin, two femmes, a trio of Mini-Cons... And a group of humans. Clearly he underestimates where he sent you."

She had heard of him in the past and had seen recordings, but that barely prepared her for seeing him in person. He was easily as tall as Optimus, perhaps taller, with smooth, curved armor colored in purple, orange and fiery red. His feet immediately reminded her of the sharp hind claws of a Tyrannosaur, making the woman wonder what he transformed into exactly. And now, after she and the others had recovered from their second trip through a space bridge in the space of an hour and been led here by their welcome wagon – an Autobot wolf that now stood beside Animatros' governor – she began to realize why this mech created such mixed feelings.

Overhaul stood his ground, hardly intimidated by the much larger mech. "We aren't here to meet your expectations, Scourge. We've got a job to do and the sooner we get it done, the sooner we get off your planet."

Aside from the brawler's bravado, none of the others among their party seemed particularly brave. Repugnus looked disinterested at best, his optics occasionally darting around the large room they found themselves in, made to look earthen but with bits of monitoring equipment and communications terminals clearly visible. Both Talon and Crystal Widow seemed nervous, while the remaining members of their group maintained cautious and wary poses.

Scourge's optics narrowed as he looked down at the brawler. "You are a guest upon my planet, Overhaul, and nothing gives you the right to ignore my title." His sight shifted further down to the gathered humans, all but glaring at them. "And if your intention was to be quick, you'd have been wise to leave the humans on their world. This is not a safe place for such… destructive beings. Tell me, which of you is the leader of this… crew?"

"I am Dr. Diana Masters and this is Army Ranger Captain William Lennox, Lord Scourge." Years of experience with difficult members of the education board plus recent meetings with numerous heads of state on Earth warned her to speak firmly but respectfully. "And we have no intention or desire to harm anyone or anything upon your world."

An optic ridge rose upon the Decepticon's face as he loomed over them, no doubt on purpose. "No intention or desire perhaps, but your people have a long history of aggressive behavior. Besides, this world is dangerous at best to my kind... and most soldiers I've seen are hardly ones to leave something alone that doesn't look like a threat."

Diana's initial curiosity about what Scourge transformed into quickly ended after three seconds. His body shifted from biped to quadruped, his arms becoming forelegs and a massive horned head replacing the one she'd been speaking to. Where a robot once was stood now beheld a massive dragon with spines emerging from its shoulders and several fangs peeking from its jaws.

Without another word, and much to the surprise of the Transformers present, Scourge let out a massive roar, directed right at the gathered humans. Aunt and nephew immediately braced themselves while Misha clutched Kicker's arm tightly and tried to block out as much sound as she could with one hand over an ear. Their eight-man escort, however, almost acted on instinct before Lennox snapped a hand up, signaling them to hold their fire but keep ready, having expected something like that after seeing Grimlock do it once before.

Scourge laughed darkly as the Rangers held their positions. "You know the value of restraint. Very good, captain, I respect that." He transformed back to his robotic form and regarded the Army captain as any joviality he displayed faded quickly. "Still, your presence on this planet puts you in danger… and even if you weren't present, you would still require an escort to the designated zone." He turned to the white and blue wolf beside him. "Snarl will accompany you. Do not linger – I've need of my lieutenant, and I'd rather he not waste his time giving you a guided tour. I, fortunately, have matters of state to attend to."

With those words, Scourge turned and departed, exiting through a door to his rear. As he left earshot, the gathered soldiers gave sighs of relief.

Epps shook his head and slipped off his MICH in relief, not just from the humidity. "Almost thought he was gonna fry us for a second."

"Don't think so," Despite the calm in his voice, Lennox was certainly somewhat rattled by the experience. "Something tells me he was just trying to intimidate us, not kill us."

"I got that feeling too," Diana admitted. She took a breath and then noticed the intent gaze of the smaller of the two Decepticons upon them. "It's not polite to stare, you know."

The Decepticon jerked his head slightly, clearly startled. "Sorry... It's just, well... You're all aliens! Don't take this the wrong way, but..."

"This is just the first time Undermine's seen anything like you guys," the second one admitted nervously. "I mean, you're all so small, maybe not smaller than the Mini-Cons…"

A growl came from Snarl. "Brimstone, I doubt they enjoy being stared at or having their traits pointed out. That goes for both of you." Both stared at him blankly before he barked, "Now get back to work!"

The two nodded quickly and, trying their best not to dart a glance back at the humans, went back to their duties. Snarl shook his head in dismay before kneeling down to the humans' level. "I apologize for all of that. Between Scourge's attempts at intimidation and their gawking, this can't be comfortable."

"Well, at least they know the oversized salamander won't be squishing them like bugs anytime soon."

Those gathered gave Repugnus various degrees of glares before Diana answered the wolf, "We've had worse receptions. This isn't a problem."

The Autobot seemed relieved and rose to his full height. "Well, unless anyone objects, we'd best begin. The site where the reaction occurred is some four kils from this settlement, and getting there on foot will take the better part of the day with the jungle."

Sam, getting past the sudden adrenaline rush, blinked in confusion. "Wait, kils?"

"About eight miles," Mirage explained. "Don't worry, it shouldn't take too long."

* * *

"Why is it taking us so long to make a TransWarp jump?"

Breakaway's question wasn't meant to convey impatience, but it was a fair one to ask. Overcast's optic band glittered in a fashion similar to humans rolling their eyes. "You can't just TransWarp jump without checking the path first – you might as well blow a hole through a planet, satellite or a ship, and we can do without the massive property damage and casualties. Opening wormholes tends to be a violent and dangerous process if we're not careful so we have to keep our distance from anything that might get in the way. Doesn't hurt to check the maths – gives the engines a chance to warm up." The large Autobot nodded at their newest ally. "And since we've got the time anyway, it might be a good idea to give us a few more answers."

"Indeed." Landquake glanced at the tiny Mini-Con in their company, Skyfall doing likewise. "The more we know about who we're looking for, the better."

Beta Maxx gave a small chuckle. "Very well." He transformed to vehicle mode and flew up to a waiting port on one of the control panels. A schematic of a Decepticon with similar coloring to the three smaller mechs appeared on the main screen, windows with details and information appearing alongside it. "This is who you're looking for. His name is Topspin and like the three of you, he possesses a unique ability all his own. He has the power to separate a Spark from the body of another Transformer without damaging either and can safely split it if needed."

"Split? You mean, create two new Sparks from one?"

"No, I mean separate the core of a Spark from its surrounding layer," Beta Maxx corrected Skyfall as he detached from the port, the schematics disappearing as he did so. "Still, it's hardly something to be encouraged."

"And he's supposed to be on Animatros." Overcast shook his head. "How the slag did he get there?"

"Most likely through the same method I arrived on Earth – Vector Prime sent him there." Breakaway leaned back in his seat. "Of course, that doesn't answer why."

"And it still leaves the question of how we'll find the fifth one, assuming he even still exists." The Decepticon tank crossed his arms with a frown. "Primus knows it can't be really easy."

"We know where Topspin is at least. That much is something to go on." The jet turned to the Mini-Con. "And if you know where Topspin is, you most likely know where our fifth is as well."

"Indeed I do." With four pairs of optics on him, Beta Maxx continued, "The fifth one is..."

But all that came out following those words was, to their audio receptors, pure gibberish. Surprised looks graced the mechs' faces as the Mini-Con muttered a soft curse. "My apologies. It seems as much as I want you to know who the fifth one is, for now Vector Sigma and Primus do not."

Disappointed, Skyfall sulked in his seat. "And I suppose we won't know anything until we can find Topspin."

A chime sounding off from his console, Overcast turned to his controls. "Well, we'd better get on that, shouldn't we? Strap in, mechs, I'm starting the jump to TransWarp."

Within a few seconds, the ship began to sharply accelerate, increasing in speed towards that of light. Just as it reached that velocity, a turbulent cloud of particles formed around the vessel, and it disappeared from space entirely, on its way to its destination.

* * *

"No offense Snarl, but this wasn't what I was expecting from an alien settlement." Despite being much smaller than his 'tour guide', Lennox could see enough of the surrounding area to be amazed. "I was expecting something a lot more... technological. This just looks rustic."

Many of his fellow humans felt likewise. Instead of massive steel towers suggesting advanced alien technology, they found themselves surrounded by assorted earthen structures. The buildings he saw looked to be made of stone and brick rather than metal and glass, and plants freely grew at certain points. The large metallic mech who led them on, despite his animalistic traits, looked more out of place than they did.

Snarl chuckled, expecting the inquisition. "It's meant to look that way. One overriding philosophy with our colonies is to work with the planet, not against it. We used local materials as part of the construction of our buildings here at Valley One, with most of the electronics concealed. And thanks to Animatros' natural tectonic activity, we even have an appropriate power source in geothermal energy."

Donnelly warily looked at a nearby large bush with indigo buds just barely flowering. "Just as long as these things aren't poisonous. Speaking of, shouldn't we be worried about alien microbes and stuff?"

"Sergeant, do you honestly think they'd send an eight-man squad and three civilians to an alien planet without considering something like that?" Diana hitched her luggage, barely keeping up with the Rangers. "We aren't the first race of organics they've encountered before, and they've had almost a year to figure out logistics like that. We've already been inoculated against whatever microbes this planet has that can hurt us, or at least the Earth equivalent. At worst, we'll be sick beyond belief. Just be careful about what you touch."

As the group continued onward, one Autobot lagged behind slightly, glancing around at the area with a degree of enjoyment.

"Crystal?"

Talon's question shook the tech-org out of her reverie. "Sorry?"

"You look out of it. What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong... I just feel slightly more adjusted here is all, less of a standout." A rare smile rested on the tech-org's face. "It's almost like I belong here."

The younger femme gained a smile of her own. "Well, don't get too comfortable. We've still got a job to do."

Crystal Widow nodded. "I remember."

Their attention returned to the main group as Snarl continued, "The major thing you need to remember is that this planet doesn't really have much in the way of animal life. Most of the larger lifeforms here are plants, and they tend to be somewhat vicious. Thankfully, they tend to stay on the plains and flatlands – our path takes us mostly through jungles and they can't get enough sunlight in those areas to grow. There are a few plants in those areas that you do need to worry about, so just stay close and you'll avoid them."

After walking a fair distance, the group found itself at the boundary of the settlement, several large trees standing before them with a well-trod dirt path weaving between them. Snarl transformed to his alternate mode, a massive blue and white wolf, before turning back to glance at them. "Like I said, work with, not against. Legs are better on uneven terrain than wheels."

"Works fine for me." Overhaul slung a cargo container over one shoulder as he glanced at the troops at his feet. "You guys good to keep going?"

"One thing about the military: they teach you how to march." Lennox's teammates chuckled at his words, although the three civilians didn't look as amused but soldiered on as they trooped into the woodlands.

"Kicker, that Energon-sensing ability of yours lets you sense Transformers too, right?" the archaeologist asked her nephew, as softly as she could while they were in the middle of the squad.

He raised an eyebrow, having raised the helmet's face shield for some fresh air. "Under the right circumstances, yeah. But I thought you packing that ground-penetrating radar was supposed to help narrow down what we're looking for."

Diana gave a small nod. "It is. I just wanted to make sure I'm covered in case it doesn't work."

"And if neither of them work?" Misha asked, retying her hair back into a ponytail.

The archaeologist really wasn't happy about that possibility. "Then be glad we packed tents and hope we don't have any really impressive surprises."

* * *

With narrowed and uneasy optics, Scourge watched as the search team exited the settlement from his office balcony. He wasn't happy about their presence on his world, not so much for the humans present but more on principle. As important as this artifact was, there was more than a small part of him that didn't want the device to be found. If the Artifacts of Primus were indeed as powerful as claimed, and were the only things which could harm Unicron, then would it not be a wise precaution to keep this Key of Power on Animatros?

He made a grumbling noise before relaxing slightly. "I've told you more than once, Wreckloose. I do not approve of you standing silent like that."

"I maintained a fair distance, Lord Scourge," countered his advisor. "If it helped, though, I suppose I could wear a bell or something." With a look from his superior, the smaller Decepticon shrugged. "Merely a suggestion."

"You no doubt have another one to make."

"Several, chief amongst them being that if you are concerned about our visitors and don't trust Snarl enough to keep watch on them for whatever reason, you may as well follow them." With an arched optic ridge from his superior, Wreckloose amended, "Of course, you clearly do trust Snarl. I'm merely..."

"–suggesting that I find an excuse to follow them." Scourge turned back to the edge of the settlement, the group having disappeared into the jungle. "If this is indeed as important as claimed, then they will have more than their fair share of trouble. And as honest as Snarl is, I'd rather know exactly who to blame for things going awry. If I'm there, well… That solves the problem at every angle." He turned from the balcony. "Keep watch on the sensor satellites. If anything out of the ordinary shows up, inform me."

"Of course, sir." As Scourge departed, Wreckloose relaxed. In the best case, the Artifact would be found and his leader would safely see it depart... and in the worst case, at least he would be there to defend it and finally have something to make up his mind.

* * *

Pleasure was a rare thing that coursed through Nemesis Prime's being, as few circumstances gave him much pleasure. Of course, each of the heralds found some joy in something – Sideways always enjoyed his games and his trickery, even though he rarely managed to indulge in it, while Soundwave found satisfaction in a job well done. But what gave Nemesis gratification was combat – he enjoyed fighting, particularly opponents that tried their best to appear stoic and strong, especially the one he was modeled after. Anyone else was an irritation… predominantly if they didn't know how to simply lie down and accept death.

Of course, today was a new day, with a planet populated by Transformers who could very easily provide a good fight. Or at the very least, bait for his rival.

"Someone is eager to begin their work."

"One must find joy in one's existence." He spared a glance at his guest, a light blue wraith-like form with his head cocked to one side curiously. "This assignment is mine, wraith. The Master has appointed you a reserve, nothing more."

"You think I am here to fight and waste my time?" Dreadwing maintained his monotone, his ruby optics blank. "I am merely here to drop off more of your assistance."

Flashing into existence alongside the lithe Herald came six Mini-Cons, the familiar forms of the Speed Chaser and Aqua Raider teams. Nemesis remembered them well – he had been the one to rip their sparks out, after all. "I already have the Beast. What usefulness the small ones had was used up on Earth."

"Then save them. As I have shown, a reserve is hardly a bad thing to have." The tall mech vanished from view, leaving Nemesis alone with the Mini-Cons and his charge.

Nemesis surveyed the Mini-Cons, their impassive expressions showing little. He turned away from them to look at what he thought would be a more useful piece of assistance. Resting behind him, its armor black, gold and bright blue, was what they called the Beast. Now he was passive, relaxed, and calm as the ocean's surface… but anyone who had seen or been through a hurricane knew the ocean could be very dangerous.

"Well… We'd best begin the hunt, as we have much ground to cover."

* * *

With Snarl in the lead, the group made their way through the jungles of Animatros, making good time despite being mostly on foot. However, it was after roughly an hour's travel that the ivory-and-blue wolf halted and transformed back to robot mode. "We'll stop here. You probably need a rest more than we do."

"No kidding." Epps slipped off his pack and helmet before parking himself upon a boulder.

They found themselves in a large clearing near the edge of the jungle, dotted with rocks and ringed by large trees which swiftly reminded the humans of large redwoods. In the distance stood tall mountains, a ravine suggesting their path into the search zone. Overhaul placed down his cargo, while the squad took to relaxing a bit after Lennox told them that they could and then sat down with relief. "No offense, doctor, but would it have killed you to request a Humvee or two?"

"No, it wouldn't." Diana had already cursed herself over that bit of oversight, not considering that finding the Key and transporting it would be easier on all parties involved if they had a ready vehicle or two that didn't have minds of their own or held full control over where to go. Several pops sounded off from her back when she stretched, unwittingly eliciting some winces from their alien companions (most of the associated humans were somewhat amused at how simple joint popping and human flexibility caused mild discomfort amongst their larger friends). "Believe me, captain; I'm about as happy over my stupidity as you are."

"Well, don't beat yourself up over it too much – we've had to deal with longer marches in worse conditions." Glancing over his watch, he added, "Besides, we're making good time, aren't we?"

"Roughly." Snarl warily glanced around as he turned to the gathered group. "We're lucky it's mostly level terrain towards that region, otherwise we'd be even longer." Noticing Overhaul's expression, he gestured around them. "I was taught to stay aware of my surroundings. On this planet, it's all but a given something dangerous might happen."

"Not a bad policy." The small brawler turned to the two femmes. "Crystal, Talon, you mind having a look around?"

The Harrier smiled as a small robotic owl popped out from a compartment in her back and perched itself on her shoulder. "Shouldn't be a problem. We'll wire back in a cycle."

They moved off into the foliage and after a few seconds Misha rose to her feet. "It wouldn't hurt to look around, would it?"

Diana thought it over for a minute before nodding her approval. "Assuming the captain doesn't mind."

"Only if an escort goes with her." Lennox considered his team. "Witwicky, maintain radio contact and watch where you step."

"Yes sir." Dutifully, he followed Misha into the woods after checking his radio.

Kicker watched them depart uneasily, not really nervous for a specific reason but still wary as he took off his helmet. "Isn't he a little young to be in the Special Forces?"

"Aren't you a little young to be running around in that fancy armor?" Epps tossed back, not meaning insult but more out of solidarity than anything. "Where'd you get that anyway? I haven't seen anything like it, 'cept maybe in that last Batman movie."

A wry grin from the teenager. "Touché."

"It's sort of a prototype developed by the Autobots. By the end of the year or early next year something similar to what Kicker is wearing should be standard issue." Not exactly the full truth, but it wasn't like the archaeologist was lying. "Certainly wouldn't hurt for the military and paramilitary."

"There are a lot of things that could be done that 'wouldn't hurt', Doctor." Repugnus sat on a large log and studied the gathered humans almost condescendingly. "Frankly, I think your people should simply stay out of warfare – not a lot of them seem to have enough sense to do the job right."

More than a little tired of that sort of commentary, Lennox bit his tongue from saying a very sarcastic comment. "You mind being a little less condescending? We're allies here, remember?"

"Only because my boss has a fondness for playing nice." Icy blue optics met unwavering brown eyes. "Optimus Prime sees a lot of potential in your people, but I have an awful hard time seeing it. Your world is heading for an energy crisis, economies are going south, greed and poverty are both on the rise across your planet, and instead of attempting to solve these problems, you're arguing about it at best, ignoring it at worst. Not to mention your shoddy military policies – a little forethought and better planning, not to mention slightly better firepower, and you'd have far less problems." A large vine began shifting behind him, but Repugnus continued as if not noticing it. "Times when I think your people would be better off in the long run with us taking a more active hand. The vast majority of you seem to lack enough sense to actually know what's going on around you." The vine snaked out but was sharply caught, yanked out from the ground, and torn to shreds within seconds, screeching all the while. "Salad?"

Opting to ignore the tech-org's comment, not to mention slightly repulsed by his casual tone and trying to remain diplomatic, Lennox decided to change the subject and person he was talking to. "No thank you. Since we've got a minute, mind telling us what it is that we're looking for, doc?"

* * *

"So, you hang out with these guys all the time." Sam carefully kept a lookout as he and Misha walked along, calming his nervousness by mentally going through what boot camp had pounded into him as they crossed over a set of exposed tree roots in the ground. "Does that bug-guy creep you out too?"

"I don't know him that well – first time I've even met him – but I think Repugnus creeps everyone out." She turned back and gave a reassuring smile. "And you can call me Misha."

"Sam," came the automatic response. "And what about the other one, the purple one with the spider parts?"

"Crystal Widow?" A surprised grin crossed the young girl's face. "She's nice! A little sad, but it's not like she means to be scary. What's got you so worked up about her anyway?"

The young soldier shrugged. "Sorry… Big robots that turn into cars and planes I don't mind, and little robots that turn into things are okay, but big robots that turn into insects, spiders, and stuff…"

"…makes you uneasy?" The two paused and looked about, Sam immediately taking a protective position in front of Misha and flipping the safety off. "If it helps, it makes the other mechs feel that way too."

The two looked up towards the tree-tops to find a sight which would give an arachnophobe nightmares for the rest of their life. Clinging upon the trunk of one tree with eight long legs was a massive purple and neon red spider, splashes of bright green marking its spinnerets and silver adorning its back.

"It's alright, it's just me," the spider continued softly. "I don't think the evolutionary ladder on this planet has quite gotten to spiders yet."

Crystal Widow moved down the trunk, her six eyes fixed on the two humans until she reached the ground. With a flash of light and as much morphing as a shifting of parts, the spider took on her more familiar and less unsettling robotic form. "Sorry if I scared you."

"No, scaring wasn't a problem." Relieved that he hadn't fired off a round or three when he had heard her voice, Sam removed his finger from his M4's trigger. "How'd you do that, the flashing thing? I mean, no offense, but none of the others…"

"I'm… something of a special case." She knelt down to ease their necks from straining. "You don't mind a long story, do you?" With two heads shaking no (each marked with a different expression), Crystal began her story. "You know about how the first Transformers, from my generation, were built by the Quintessons and given life by Vector Sigma. For all of their supposed knowledge, the Quints didn't know how or why their products were coming to life. So they started putting tracer beacons in a lot of us. We'd be found, given life, training, and once we got back to the surface, we would be captured, along with whoever was with us at the time."

"Wait… The Quintessons did this to you?" Misha looked up at the tech-org with sad eyes. "That's horrible… but why would they do that?"

"We don't really know. All we do know is that a lot of us who ended up captured and survived their examinations ended up with organic components grafted onto us. Some of us accepted it, something about coding in our sparks... but most weren't as lucky. I was nearly one of them." She ran a long-fingered hand over one arm, feeling along the artificial tendons and joints. "It took the power of Vector Sigma itself to save my life, but I ended up like this… the best example of a techno-organic, tendons and muscle mixed in with armor and circuitry. My optics even look so much like them, I wouldn't blame anyone for mistaking them for eyes. I'm practically a perfect synthesis of flesh and steel." She gave an ironic smile. "The Quints would be so proud."

More than a little sympathetic to the Autobot, Misha stepped forward and gently took hold of one of her fingers. "I'm sorry. I know how it feels to have your world torn apart in a second. For what it's worth, you're not alone."

The smile changing to a surprised and thankful one, Crystal gently held a hand to the girl's chin. "I've been seeing that a lot lately… and it doesn't hurt to hear it." She looked to the young man. "And what about you, private?"

"Just trying not to think about how far that synthesis thing goes." Sam was more than a little worried about the implications of that… in more ways than one.

Misha gave him a mocking look. "I hope you don't think about things like that with your girlfriend – cannibalism's frowned upon last I checked."

As Sam tried to come up with some kind of explanation, Crystal gave a small gentle laugh. "Don't worry. It doesn't go that far." She rose to her full height. "I didn't spot anything up there. We'd better head back before they get worried about us." The three went off, and she amended, "Thanks, by the way. For listening."

* * *

"Okay, so these Artifacts of Primus are supposed to help stop this Unicron guy from eating Cybertron, and then the rest of the universe?"

"That's the gist of it," Diana confirmed to Lennox. "And while we don't know where the Key of Unity is, we're pretty sure the Keys of Power and Velocity are here on Animatros and Velocitron respectively. And we're hoping that once the last two are found and reunited with the Omega Lock, plus the Key of Wisdom, we'll get a better idea of where the last one is."

"Question," Donnelly voiced, partly raising a hand. "What do these things look like?"

"Here, have a look." Diana passed over a notebook with a sketch on one page, surrounded by scribbled notes. "That's the Key of Wisdom. The real thing's about five feet or so in length, so I don't expect the others to be much bigger, but it'll definitely have a different color and a different symbol on the front – that one there, that looks like a claw."

"And it'll be green." Heads turned to Snarl. "Everyone here on Animatros who's gained a Cyber Key ability since the Omega Lock's recovery's had a green glow around them – Scourge's with gold and the rest of us silver. And if it's powering these abilities, then it makes sense they're all a corresponding color."

"Not exactly the most direct connection, but it sounds reasonably logical." Dirt Boss glanced over the sketch. "Still, the sooner we find this thing and get it back to Cybertron, the better. No offense, but this planet gives me the creeps."

A soft chuckle went through the air, prompting the soldiers' attention. "It may not be a nice place to visit, but it is a marvelous place to live."

The foliage ruffled slightly as the gathered humans rose to their feet, Lennox not needing to signal his soldiers to keep their weapons at the ready but not to take aim. As they watched, a large mechanized rhino emerged from the forest, his body a sort of faded grey and violet with yellow optics and a large red horn adorning his snout.

"You must be the search party," continued the rhino in gentle tones. "I hope that your stay has been pleasant so far." He turned from the humans to Snarl. "Hello Snarl. It is good to see you again."

An unmistakable smile on his face, Snarl gave a polite bow. "Hello sensei."

Without a second thought, the rhino turned to one side and transformed, his front legs forming a right and his back legs a left, one arm emerging from beneath his head and another from his rear, and a small red and brown humanoid head with prominent fangs emerging from his back. Despite his animalistic traits, Diana couldn't help but be reminded of some depictions of the Laughing Buddha. "Please forgive my surprising you. I am Backstop, former Colonial Governor of Animatros and teacher to many of its inhabitants, Snarl and Scourge being my best students." He leaned forward and offered a finger from his right hand. "And you must be Dr. Masters. Welcome."

"Thank you." Diana took the offered finger and shook. "How'd you know I was coming?"

"How else?" Overhaul couldn't help but smirk. "Scavenger told him."

"Indeed he did. Scavenger and I are old friends, and he was kind enough to inform me of exactly who was coming." He rose back to his full height before looking to the brawler. "He also informed me that someone would be coming with you, a young femme in need of some assistance by the name of Talon. Where is she?"

"Doing recon, should be back…" Footfalls signaling another arrival, Overhaul turned to find Crystal, Misha and Sam returning. "…in a little bit. Why, what's wrong with her?"

"Nothing that concerns us for now," reassured the old sage. He surveyed the gathered humans, his face giving off equal parts curiosity, friendliness, and, as he caught sight of the soldiers' armaments, some dismay. "I was hoping that we would not have this with the first human visitors to our world."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Epps asked. "We aren't hurting anything."

"Indeed you aren't, sergeant, and I have no problem with humans on Animatros. I am merely saddened that you carry firearms with you."

A laugh from Repugnus. "Sounds like the old guru isn't fond of weapons."

"In general, no, especially firearms." Backstop sat down upon a fallen tree trunk gracefully. "I have trained each of my students in the Way of the Peaceful Warrior, teaching them not only how to fight, but how best to avoid one. Negotiation and earnest effort can avert a conflict before it starts, while violence will only make things worse."

A derisive snort from the assassin. "That's a limited view. Last I checked there were plenty of folks that shouldn't be negotiated with. The fleshies know what I'm talking about, their planet's packed full of that kind of scum." Several Rangers didn't quite exactly glower at that comment but all of their stiffen postures spoke otherwise.

"Most of whom have come into power thanks to the poor socioeconomic conditions present in certain areas on that world. Poverty and poor education are the bread and butter of tyrants, whereas forethought and compassion can do more to stop them than blind hatred."

"And what about the zealots? What about those who can't be stopped by talk or discussion, who'd die for their religion just to kill more people with their last breath? The ones who think that if they die for their religion, they'll be rewarded by their God? What do you do with them?"

An optic ridge rose on Backstop's face. "What would you do, Repugnus? How would you stop such individuals?"

Repugnus tapped the crook of an elbow as he regarded the question. "I know exactly what I'd do. I wouldn't waste my time hunting down the foot soldiers… I'd go after the people in charge. I'd find them, in their caves and rat-holes, take out everyone standing between me and them. Then, I'd restrain the leaders, ignore their rants about how their God will protect them, and listen intently as I sever their spinal cords at one end before ripping them out. And after that, I'd leave what remains of them in the streets of the nearest city, where everyone can see them, and make sure that recordings of their deaths are made available on all the news feeds. That'd send a message – they want to die, then they'll die a slow, agonizing death."

Many of the humans were more than a little disgusted by that description (although Misha had paled a bit), as were the other Transformers. The rhino betrayed no hint of such feelings and regarded the tech-org before him with sad optics. "How many would have to die in that manner? You said yourself: such individuals are zealots, uninterested in what this world can give them and convinced they will die for a reward in the next one. You take that method and at worst, you will have a thousand more zealots for each one you kill, eventually an empty land, or at best, a land governed by fear. Neither is particularly pleasant. You have to find a better solution – one that doesn't involve such carnage, at that."

Lennox smiled wryly. "He's right. Much as we'd like to see bin Laden dead, killing him wouldn't solve all our problems, not forever."

"And as nice as it was to get Saddam out of power, the way we did it turned out to be more trouble than it was worth." Diana coughed politely, clearing her throat. "You aren't wrong, but it's not as simple as you make it out to be."

Repugnus averted his gaze and crossed his arms proudly, if not almost disappointedly, prompting a chuckle from Backstop. "There is nothing wrong with having a healthy difference of opinion, Repugnus. All of us have had to confront differing viewpoints at one time or another, or be willing to question one's own." He looked into the trees and called out, "Isn't that right, Scourge?"

Much to the surprise of those gathered, and clearly to Scourge himself, the Decepticon dragon stepped out of the forest. To Diana's eyes, he almost looked embarrassed to have been discovered. "Yes, sensei. That is correct."

"You followed us?" A few of the soldiers echoed Overhaul's indignation in soft mutters, but he was the only one to express it loudly. "Why? Afraid we actually would find the Key?"

Scourge glared at the smaller mech. "Yes. If that Key is supposedly able to hurt Unicron, as you claim it does, then why bother to take it from this planet? As long as it remains, the inhabitants of this world are safe and the Chaos Bringer wouldn't dare come."

"Forgive me, Lord Scourge, but that's flawed logic." The dragon turned to Diana as she sat up and met his gaze unflinchingly head-on. "Yes, the Artifacts of Primus are supposed to be able to defeat the Chaos Bringer, but not a single one can properly do the job alone. If Unicron attacked this planet now, with the Key of Power hidden on it, all he'd do is give himself a bad case of indigestion. And having several Artifacts on Earth or Cybertron for any given period of time didn't stop his Heralds from attacking either planet. We need all seven if we're going to stop him."

As something caught the attention of the two tech-orgs present, Scourge regarded the woman with skepticism. "It will take more than the assertions of a fleshling woman to convince–"

"INCOMING!"

The unified shout from both Repugnus and Crystal Widow was enough to get the attention of those present. The humans and Mini-Cons quickly dove for cover in one direction, the larger Transformers to another while two forms crashed into the ground before them. As they recovered, they caught sight of the arrival – her body having demolished the cargo container, Nightwise a crumpled and sparking mess at her side, lay Talon, mostly intact but struggling to recover herself.

"We've… got… company…" she croaked before collapsing, her optics going dim.

Before anyone could get to their feet and try to help the young femme, a loud roar caught their attention as a massive jet-like form shot towards them, shifting in form as it reached the ground and landed, kicking up dirt and plant material with its shovel-like feet. Its form reminded the gathered humans of some nightmarish construction vehicle, while its clawed arms and tail-like limb immediately brought to mind a scorpion. The newcomer regarded everyone in front of it for several moments, standing as still as a predator ready to strike.

As he examined the attacker from a distance, Scourge's optics soon widened in shock. The color scheme was different, black and gold and red replacing the familiar orange and green and a different shade of blue... but there was only one mech who had that construction. "Scorponok?!"

The attacker didn't recognize him in turn and bellowed out a bestial roar before charging forward, one arm forward and another stretched behind his back. Scourge countered by charging forward and catching the larger mech before he could properly strike, digging his clawed feet into the ground and holding back both pinchers.

"I take it these two know each other," Repugnus dryly noted as most of the Rangers immediately took aim, several dragging the civilians away to better cover with the Mini-Cons hastily following.

"They're brothers," Snarl explained as he converted his sword to a gun with a flick of his wrist.

Recognizing the sounds of weapons being primed, Scourge called back, "Hold your fire, you–!"

The leader of Animatros found himself with a head injury, Scorponok's tail having shot down and collided with his cranium. It wasn't enough to seriously hurt him – just enough to disorient – but more than enough to let the other Decepticon toss him away like a rag doll and return to his charge.

As he took his first step, however, the Rangers opened fire, armor-piercing rounds flying towards the massive mech's visible and brightly-colored joints. As the humans attacked, Snarl transformed to beast mode and bounded towards his fallen leader, helping him to stand. The Terran weapons did little to slow Scorponok down as he curled his arms around himself, growled like an angry beast and transformed to his second alternate mode, a massive metal monster that looked like the offspring of two construction vehicles and a scorpion. On massive treads he charged forward, sharp mandible-like parts on his front snapping viciously and bullets bouncing off. Both Repugnus and Overhaul charged at him and were tossed aside, the bladed implements on Scorponok's claws leaving deep gashes where they made contact. Repugnus regained his footing and considered his next move, while Overhaul jumped back into the fray, landing hard on the metal scorpion's back.

Now distracted by the brawler, Scorponok paid little notice as Crystal Widow jumped into action, her legs converting as she went and splitting apart. With amazing and unsettling speed, she skittered behind two and positioned herself between two immense trees. The armor on her forehead shifted, revealing another pair of optics above the main set before she fired strings of semitransparent purple webbing from her wrists. The webs shot through the air and stuck fast to Scorponok's limbs, allowing her to wrap her ends around the trees by her sides.

Lennox quickly ordered his men to fall back to a safer distance when Scorponok began to thrash about, roaring angrily at the fact his claws were being restrained. He attempted to strike out with his tail, but Overhaul caught it hard, hoping to Primus that his opponent wouldn't try swinging it about to shake him loose.

As he attempted to tend to Talon, Backstop called to Repugnus. "Scourge is right – killing Scorponok will solve no problems and leave us with no answers for his behavior. Fight him, subdue him, but do not kill him!"

The assassin groaned. "You just have to make things as difficult as they can be, don't you?" He shifted to his own beast mode, a flame-colored mix of a praying mantis and lizard and charged forward… only to find himself knocked to the ground from behind by a long blade on a chain.

Much to the surprise of the gathered non-combatant humans, Talon began to collect herself, her optics going from bright blue to an eerie purple and her body's coloration shifting from silver and lavender to midnight blue and bronze. She turned around slowly as Repugnus, now returned to robot mode and having pulled the blade free, stared at her in surprise.

"Something's different about you, Talon."

"Talon isn't in right now," answered Darkwing, sending chills down several spines and spinal relays. Without another second's hesitation, she jumped to her feet and recalled the blade, prompting the humans near her to jump back as she took flight and charged into the fray, twin swords popping from her wings.

"I get the odd feeling that's why she came here." Diana gave Backstop a worried look, prompting a nod from the ancient rhino as they watched from behind a tree. "Let me guess, bad thing?"

"The latest in a long succession of them, it seems." The old Autobot's optics narrowed as he studied the scene, beginning to suspect what had caused all of this to transpire.

The fight continued, however, Scorponok having transformed and tossed Overhaul off his back, snapping the webbing in the process. He batted at Darkwing with his claws, the smaller and more nimble femme dodging his blows for several swings before jumping back.

"You have fight in you." The femme's lips curled into a smile. "I know how to deal with that."

From her palms emerged twin needle-like points, sharp as the tips of her swords. As one claw swung at her, she caught it and then the other before plunging the points into her opponent. Sharp claws emerging from her fingertips, she grabbed hold and clamped down tight.

"I wonder what you taste like."

Darkwing suddenly seized up, her optics turning bright and her body growing stiff as both Cybertronians took on a bright and brilliant glow, focused squarely on the femme's hands. Scorponok's bellows continued, but as the process went on they shifted to cries of pain, his opponent echoing them by screaming in pleasure. After a few seconds, she broke off, and her opponent collapsed to the ground barely conscious.

Staggering back towards the clearing from where he landed, Overhaul glanced over at the femme, trying his best to walk off his injuries. "That's enough. He's down, so go back wherever you came from."

Darkwing blankly looked at him before slowly growing a sadistic grin. "No." She lashed out with her chain blade which bit hard into the brawler and drew him in like a fish on a hook. "I'm not going… anywhere."

Fighting back the pain and gritting his dental plates, Overhaul growled as he took on a silver and white aura, "Fine. If that's the way you wanna play…"

A flash of light, and Overhaul's Cyber Key ability went active, blasting away the possessed femme and tearing out the blade in the process. As Overhaul collapsed to the ground, cumulative damage becoming clear all over his body, Repugnus retook the offensive, transforming to his beast mode and buzzing in, digging his insectoid claws and mandibles into Darkwing's back.

If either attack appeared to faze the femme, she showed no sign. What damage had been given her by Overhaul's attack slowly beginning to heal, she reached back and took hold of the tech-org's fragile wings… and ripped them straight out with little ease. As the assassin shrieked in pain, she rocketed backwards into a tree, smashing her opponent into its trunk three times before shaking him loose from her body, the injuries he inflicted healing much faster.

Already more than a little shaken by the attack to begin with but discipline keeping it in check, the Rangers quickly took aim again, having reloaded their weapons during the short lull but already backing away on knowing this was leaving their field of comfort. She regarded them with a cruel smile and mused, "I've always wondered what human blood tastes like."

An unfamiliar voice with a pained and enraged rasp. "Keep wondering."

As Darkwing turned to regard her new target, a shot fired off from the cannon mounted at the tip of Scorponok's tail, plowing into her and sending her flying up through the tree limbs and into the distance. The bulky Decepticon watched her depart, panting heavily and damaged in more ways than one, but looking far more intelligent than before. He slowly propped himself up on his claws as Scourge approached.

"Keep your distance, brother!" The dragon halted at his sibling's words. "I… am barely in control of myself now."

"Would someone mind telling me just what the hell happened here?" Lennox finally yelled in exasperation, quickly checking over his men and charges.

"Most likely something was possessing Scorponok and Talon siphoned it into herself," Diana quickly surmised, helping Misha stand up before plucking a leaf from her hair. "But whatever it was still has some kind of influence."

Scorponok gave a pained nod at the archaeologist's deduction. "An… accurate summation." He snarled before quickly regaining control as he rose to his feet and looked at Scourge. "It… has been… a very long stellar cycle."

"You'll have to enlighten us later." Mirage glanced between Repugnus and Overhaul, the two seriously damaged in the protracted fight. "We need to get them back to Valley One, now."

"No!" Scourge's cry rang with desperation. "Scorponok is barely in control of himself! If he loses control in the city–!"

"Enough." Backstop's calm voice caught everyone's attention. "We will get them help, all of them. There is a place that is closer, just outside of the jungles in a nearby valley. We will get all of them help there, away from civilization." He transformed to beast mode. "Scourge, you'll need to carry the humans on your back. Crystal Widow, we'll need something to help us carry Overhaul and Repugnus – can you make stretchers with your webbing?"

"Easily done."

"Good. Snarl and I shall carry the wounded using them, with assistance from the Mini-Cons. Scorponok, keep to the rear and do not transform – the less distraction you have the better. I will take point – the rest of you will follow."

"Where?" Scourge asked, even as he and the others worked to follow his teacher's orders, the humans salvaging what they could from the destroyed container.

"To the object of their quest... and perhaps our salvation."

* * *

This was the part that Optimus hated the most: waiting. Ever since the early days, when he and his brothers led the revolt against the Quintessons, the Autobot leader had never felt comfortable sending troops off into the unknown. Even when the intelligence was excellent and the troops well-trained and trusted, he felt uncomfortable not being there alongside them… and thousands of meta-cycles of relative peace and hard-earned experience among his troops had done little to hurt that feeling.

With a determined huff, he turned away from the windows overlooking Iacon and sat back down at his desk. He needed to get his mind off the twin missions his troops were on, away from the looming confrontations ahead, and turn it towards something else.

The red and white semi felt beneath his desk before finding what he sought – a small datapad that had seen better cycles, if the multitude of scratches were of any indication. Turning it on, the screen came alive with old images from times long gone. He cycled through the pictures, remembering old battles and old celebrations, the familiar faces of old friends catching his optics once more – some long dead, most still with him, and a few lost by other methods… with one standing out in particular.

Blue optics rested on an old recorded image of two Autobots, most likely taken by Jetfire during a playful moment without the subjects realizing it. Resting on one of his shoulders – her heels digging slightly into his chest – sat a smiling femme glancing down at him, armor a dull rose with silver and black highlights, and three antennae emerging from her helm. In return, he was looking back up at her, happiness shining in his optics. She was the one femme who managed to do for him what he had done for so many.

The doors to his office slid open and his optics darted up to meet those of Starscream. "Is this a bad time?"

"No, just remembering old times." He set the datapad aside. "The backup teams ready?"

"Just came by to inform you of that little detail." The Seeker caught sight of the image and couldn't help but smile. "So that's who you were thinking of." Optimus gave him a dry look, causing the Decepticon to raise a hand. "There's nothing wrong with thinking about those we miss. I think about Jhiaxus every time I see that crown of mine."

"At least with him we know exactly what happened." The Autobot leader leaned back in his seat, weariness as if draping around him as he turned to look out the window. "She was on Nebulos when we lost contact, and as far as we know…"

"…Only one ship escaped and she wasn't on it." Starscream shook his head. "I realize I'm being insensitive, but it might be a wise idea to let go. Nebulos was devoured, and most of those who were there are gone. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if Unicron actually let the _Flash Frenzy_ escape – let word spread that a planet's been eaten, and everyone gets scared."

"But what if other ships had escaped?" At the Decepticon leader's surprise, he elaborated, "I've carried the Matrix ever since we came online. Having it that long, I can tell when a Spark returns from where it came… It's little more than a quick flash, but I feel it all the same. I can see myself missing one or two events like that, but hundreds, if not thousands of Transformers dying, their Sparks reuniting with Primus en masse?"

"You didn't sense Unicron's actual attack, however," the Seeker corrected him. "Vector Prime did."

"But I'm not one of the First Thirteen, and he'd be far more sensitive to that than I would." The Autobot leader got to his feet. "And he isn't carrying something that serves as a direct link to the Allspark. There could be more survivors."

"Could." Starscream raised a finger to punctuate his point. "For now, we can't prove that, so I suggest focusing on the situation at hand and not worrying over what we can't confirm." His expression softened. "For what it's worth, however, you may just be right."

A chirp from the comm.-system prompted Optimus. "Yes?"

"_Got bad news, boss-bot."_ Jetfire's normally enthusiastic tone was more than a little frustrated. _"Word's come in from Velocitron – they're under attack from some kind of tank thing, with a way too familiar energy reading. And something tells me they ain't the only ones having trouble right now."_

A glance between the two leaders. "It's never easy, is it?"

Starscream answered his sibling with a wry smirk. "We've known that for how long?"

A smile beneath his faceplate and Optimus returned to the communiqué. "Jetfire, prep both backups. If something's happening on Velocitron, chances are there's trouble on Animatros as well. Also, get me Omega."

"_Had an odd hunch you'd need him – he's already standing by with the Animatros team, and Vector's ready to head to Velocitron."_

"Tell them to wait for us – I have a feeling this isn't the last surprise we'll receive today."

* * *

A light distortion in space, as if a piece of fabric being twisted, and the _Flash Frenzy_ surged back into reality, slowing down as it soared towards its destination.

"Say what you will about this ship, it's a survivor." Overcast laughed with glee as he studied his forward monitors, checking the read-outs as they came in with favorable info. "And she always gets you where you need to go."

Picking himself up from where he'd fallen, Beta Maxx took a moment to reorient himself, waiting for the warning messages to disappear from his HUD. "Yes, well, clearly, a chair for me is in order the next time we attempt another TransWarp. Do we have landing clearance?"

"All we need to do is contact Valley One for a safe landing sight, and we'll be able to make planet fall." His fingers danced along his console, and Landquake opened a channel. "Valley One, this is _Flash Frenzy_, requesting permission to land."

A screen flashed to life and Wreckloose's surprised face popped up. _"Landquake? Well, I didn't know you'd be dropping in. Decided to finally get off planet and stop with your silly life-quest?"_

The Decepticon tank smirked. "Yes and no. We need somewhere to park – any available docking ports?"

"_Ports six and fourteen are clear for... Hold on..."_ Wreckloose look of surprise switched to worry. _"We have a problem. Word's come in from Cybertron – Optimus is sending in a second search team."_

"No doubt for the Key of Power." The Mini-Con among them looked to the Decepticon in shock. "Something must have happened."

"It's good that we are here then." Breakaway sounded more than a little grim at the news. "The Key – where is it?"

"I'm uncertain of that, but…" Beta Maxx adjusted a monitor screen, focusing in on an area of the surface. "There! What does that look like to you?"

Skyfall glanced over. "Some sort of artificial structure. Where did that come from?"

"We'll find out when we set down." Overcast plugged into communications. "Wreckloose, right? We'll be touching down near that thing, sending coordinates. When Optimus gets there, you tell him where we are, because if what we think is there actually is there, then we've got ourselves one slagging mess waiting for us."

The Decepticon lizard seemed more than a little irritated at the order, but complied. _"I'll let him know."_ His image disappeared, leaving the five alone once more.

As soon as Wreckloose disappeared from their monitor screens, Overcast returned his attention to the controls. "Best strap in, mechs. There's gonna be some turbulence."

* * *

"And they said there's no application in stealth." Overbite grinned smugly as the _Sea Slug_ made planet fall, the ship having evaded the rings of monitor satellites installed around the planet. "I'll say this for the old space dog – Cannonball had the right idea about this stuff. Almost makes me regret giving up piracy."

"As if we actually did much pirating worth speaking of." Blastcharge's voice was loaded with irritation. "Smuggling, black marketeering, ferrying Astrotrain around... Where was the pillaging? Where was the plundering? At least now we get some proper action."

"And you two should be grateful for it." They gave a startled jump as Command Ravage prowled behind their seats. "You two are especially lucky that Lord Galvatron so willingly allowed for your return to the fold, given your ineptitude." Casting a glance towards a third occupied console, he added, "Though it can be said that neither of you truly abandoned him… Unlike some."

Terrorsaur wisely kept silent.

"Yeah, well, you Terrorcons didn't really accomplish much, now did you?" The ebon tank cast a critical look at the blue and grey jaguar, more than a little defensive over his actions.

For his part, the Terrorcon leader remained nonplussed. "But we remained loyal and that counts." He turned to depart, one of his subordinates following. "Once we land, my unit will disembark. Finding the Autobots should not be difficult and I doubt very much that they will be ready for us."

The bridge crew kept silent as the Terrorcons exited, the hatch behind them closing with a hiss before the Velociraptor spoke quietly. "I would advise caution. Say what you will about Optimus Prime, he is no fool – if these Artifacts are so important, he will not send mere grunts to chase after them."

"Whether he is a fool or not is of little consequence, Dinobot. None of the Autobots so much as come close to being able to match us in combat, and the only ones who show even a slim hope of combating us will no doubt be occupied with security detail. Besides, he will be searching two worlds, and you can only send so many troops on such errands."

The two found themselves at the ship's embarkation deck, the remaining Terrorcons awaiting them. Battle Ravage, as always, was restless, snarling and pacing about the deck with his usual desire for combat. No doubt just as eager to get out of this confined space, Divebomb had perched himself near the hatch, while his near-twin Shadowhawk sat in meditation. Cruellock and Doom-Lock were sharpening their weapons – had they the space, they would be sparring and testing themselves against one another. Insecticon, meanwhile, was fiddling with his gun, while Chromehorn had managed to hide himself just out of view. All of them would be more than ready when the time came, and Command Ravage was confident they would see the job through.

"Terrorcons! Stand to attention!" At their leader's words, the seven halted their activities and rose to their feet. "We are about to land upon Animatros, the Jungle Planet, an entire world of dense vegetation, rife with seismic events and vicious plants. Our targets are an ancient artifact, location unknown, and a party of Autobots, their numbers equally unknown." A smile curled on his face. "Such things are of little concern. We've brushed off volcanoes and earthquakes just as the beasts themselves, and should a plant attack us, it will swiftly become little more than a salad. And it won't matter how many Autobots are there or who is present – once they lead us to this artifact, their lives will be forfeit. Terror shall rule, and the Terrorcons shall enforce it!"

Cries of support rang up among most of the Terrorcons, Dinobot barely suppressing a growl while Chromehorn kept silent. The cries died down as they felt a gentle thud, the ship having made touchdown.

As the hatch opened before them, the nine readied themselves and gathered their gear, weapons being loaded and energy supplies checked. "Chromehorn has studied the geography of the area – he will scout ahead and locate the Autobot search team."

The green and squat Terrorcon showed a little relief as he moved to the hatch, only to be shoved aside.

"He said you'd scout ahead, bug." Divebomb gave a smug grin as he and Shadowhawk strode down the ramp. "He didn't say you'd be getting off first."

Chromehorn slowly got to his feet, supporting himself with one wall. He should have seen that coming, it'd happened so often.

"Command Ravage, I would like to accompany Chromehorn. When he locates the Autobots, I will be in a good position to soften them up, keep them pinned to that area while you make headway towards us."

That, however, had never happened, and the survivalist was doubly surprised when the Terrorcon leader actually thought over it. "Very well, Dinobot. Stay with him and keep alert."

Surprise still clear on his face, Chromehorn followed the bright red Velociraptor down the ramp. He clearly heard the various snickers among the others, and said nothing until the two began to enter the jungle. "Thanks, I–"

"Do not thank me," came the sharp reply. "I need time to myself, Chromehorn. You are simply giving me an opportunity to have such."

What joy he had was now dampened by that admission, but the bulky Terrorcon was still glad for some company.

* * *

High above them, Divebomb watched the two disappear into the jungle. "I always wondered if Dinobot was starting to go senile. Actually wanting to be with the bug? Can you believe that?"

"No doubt he wishes to test himself against the Autobots alone. Dinobot has been decidedly dissatisfied as of late."

"Yeah, well, that's his problem. Besides, we'll find those old junk piles long before Chromehorn will."

The two barely caught the sound of engine exhaust before something massive slammed into them, sending the two back down into the clearing they'd landed in. They crashed to the ground hard, Divebomb barely conscious enough to take sight of their attacker – deep blue and bronze, sharply-angled wings with spikes emerging from her back alongside two blackened out and distorted Autobot emblems.

"Careful what you wish for."

As Shadowhawk transformed back to his robot mode, Darkwing's blade found itself lodged within his chest, a crackling of energy down it signifying its entry to his spark chamber. His optics dimmed immediately, body shifting to monochrome colors with the passing of his spark.

Before she could start on Divebomb, however, energy blasts tore into her body, prompting her attention back to the remaining five Terrorcons. Command Ravage and Insecticon had seen fit to open fire, while the other three were flanking towards her, claws and blades readied.

Darkwing gave a small, eager smile. "Impatient, aren't we?"

* * *

"Who the frag is that?!" Terrorsaur's optics were practically bulging from his cranium after seeing the initial attack.

"Whoever she is, she just slagged Shadowhawk good." Disbelief was clear in the tech-org shark's voice. "What do we do?"

Blastcharge glanced at the monitors before settling into his seat, a tapping finger the only indicator betraying how he felt of the situation. "The Terrorcons can handle it."

* * *

The commotion anything but unnoticed to them, Chromehorn and Dinobot retreated back to the clearing just as Battle Ravage charged the lone Transformer, leaping into the air with his titanium claws flashing in the sunlight. Darkwing simply caught the Terrorcon by the neck, holding him tight even as he struggled to transform to robot mode, and smiled.

The cat yowled in pain while Cruellock attacked, his Energon blade flashing from the sun. Darkwing parried it with her sword, an amused expression on her face as the raptor made another futile strike. Even as one attempted to gain an edge, the second attacked, charging forward in his beast mode with Energon claws ready to strike. Doom-Lock soon found his strike halted with a chain blade curled about his throat, seconds before he was drawn in like a hooked fish. Surprised by the sudden strike, Cruellock didn't even manage to block Darkwing's blade as she impaled him in the chest.

Unnoticed in the melee, Dinobot flipped out his own sword, prompting a hiss of surprise from his partner. "What are you doing?! We can't attack that!"

"I'm fully aware of my limitations." Chromehorn was still speechless while Dinobot reached out with the blade and, positioning it so that the tip was pointed down, began to carefully edge the battered Divebomb into the woods. "Now keep silent."

Both Chromehorn and the damaged hawk did as told while a bestial scream rang out. Attention returned to the battle as the captive Battle Ravage cried out in pain, energy draining from him into Darkwing. The femme's optics dimmed while her mouth opened in a silent cry of pleasure, soaking up the energy with clear joy. Her needs sated, she tossed aside the cat and then turned to her remaining opponents.

Command Ravage stared in shock at the battlefield – only he and Insecticon remained against this lone berserker, and the former looked more curious than frightened by their opponent.

"Fascinating, isn't she?"

"You can examine her after she's offline!" The Terrorcon leader once more opened fire upon his opponent, all the while activating his radio link. "Blastcharge, we're being massacred out here! DO SOMETHING!!"

"_I am,"_ came the calm reply over the link, the embarkation ramp to the _Sea Slug_ sliding shut with a loud screech. _"A lesson for you, Command Ravage. Loyalty matters little when one is dead... survival matters most, and I am a survivor."_

The thrum of engine fire blasted through the air. "Traitor! Once this Autobot is dead, you will be next! Do you hear me, Blastcharge?! You will not live to see the next–!!"

Command Ravage was cut off as a chain blade found itself wedged in his chest, penetrating his spark chamber. The last thing he saw as his optics went out was the ship drifting upwards into the atmosphere.

The Terrorcon leader's body fell with a thud, and Insecticon gazed in amazement at the one to kill his commander. "You are most fascinating, my dear. A perfect killing machine. What is your secret?"

The flash of a blade and the scientist's question was answered.

"No mercy."

A slight rumble in the ground, and Insecticon's body tumbled to one side, split right down the middle. As his body turned to grey, Darkwing turned back to her hostage, his optics wide with clear fear. "Now, to finish the job."

She reared back with her sword, Doom-Lock still struggling in her grip as she savored every second of his fear. Then her hostage began to convulse even more, shaking and quaking as if having a seizure. Seconds later, his body fell limp, his optics black and his armor shifting into the familiar grey of death.

"Pointless," said a monotone voice from nowhere. "Inefficient."

A laugh. "But you must give her points for effort, Dreadwing. One damaged, one weakened, and three very dead. Almost four."

She turned as a massive, vaguely familiar figure emerged from the woods, her chains going limp and allowing the dead Terrorcon to fall to the ground. He didn't fall, however, merely hung in the air as the one who first spoke shimmered back into view. "But there are better uses for sparks than simply returning them to where they came."

A dark chuckle from the second newcomer. "On that, we agree." His chest flashed tellingly as he turned to the corrupted Autobot. "Did you enjoy it, Darkwing? The carnage, the destruction, the chaotic clash against these beasts?"

Darkwing's optics trained on him, betraying no emotion. "Why, yes. I did enjoy it."

"Then are you ready for the next course?"

A dark smile curled upon her lips. "Yes."

* * *

With Battle Ravage's pained mewls fresh in his audio receptors and the weakened felinoid stacked onto his back, Chromehorn skittered along the ground, his six legs easily supporting him as he and the other survivors made good their escape. "What was that femme?! Who WERE those guys?!"

"I do not know." Dinobot snarled to himself, trying his best to sound less frightened than he actually was. "But they are clearly too much for us."

"Says the cowards who hid and ran." Divebomb had gathered enough strength to return to robot mode but lacked enough to walk, forcing the ruby Velociraptor to carry him along in a fireman's carry. "We should go back, avenge the others…"

"And get brutally killed." As much as he hated the idea of turning tail and running, Dinobot saw little option. First and foremost, they needed help, which meant going back to their original mission of finding the Autobots. Assuming they were still in one piece by the time they found their red-sigil bearing opposites.

Heavy footfalls in the distance prompted the Velociraptor to halt. He motioned the same to Chromehorn and tuned his optics to scan for the source of the noise. He eventually caught sight of several large objects running along a well-trod path, including one he recognized.

"What is it?" asked the timid beetle.

"Scourge." Dinobot knew many things about the governor of Animatros, had heard tales of his power in battle… and realized that if anyone could aid them now, he was on the short list. "Come, Chromehorn – it is time we made a deal with the dragon."

* * *

"Where exactly are we supposed to be going, anyway?" It was bad enough for Lennox that they'd just been attacked and one of their supposed allies had decided to go Jekyll and Hyde on them, but riding bareback upon a giant robot dragon was anything but according to plan.

For his part, however, the dragon was anything but comfortable. "I am as in the dark as you are, captain, but I trust my old teacher more than anyone."

With Backstop in the lead and Scorponok bringing up the rear, the group finally cleared the jungle, finding themselves at the start of an old dusty stone path heading towards a massive stone structure. Waiting for them was a massive building of some kind, one staircase leading to a middle level and a second one after that.

"This is our destination!" Backstop halted gradually, the rest of the group stopping sharply behind him. He positioned himself to gently slide Repugnus off his back before transforming to robot mode and scooping the younger Autobot up into his arms. "The entrance is at the top of these stairs. We will have to carry the wounded and the smaller ones up."

Scourge and Snarl nodded in acknowledgement, the former allowing his human passengers to slide off his back and the latter carefully shaking Overhaul off. As the white wolf transformed and the dragon retrieved the humans' gear, Overhaul's optics glanced over the structure. "What is this place?"

"Sacred ground." The rhino gave no other explanation as he began to ascend the stairs, his two students following behind with further passengers in tow.

Just behind Scourge and right in front of Scorponok strode Crystal Widow, Diana sitting on her shoulder while Kicker and Misha sat in her arms. "This building… It's like a Mayan pyramid!"

"But why would something like that be here on Animatros?" Kicker asked, looking up to his excited aunt. "I mean, what's the point?"

"Good question, but right now I'm more concerned with how big this thing is." Diana gave studious glances around, more than nervous about her grip on the tech-org's shoulder, all the while trying to get a better idea for the size of the structure without falling off. "Crystal, what's your height in Earth measurement? Robot mode, metric."

Multiple optic shutters blinked. "Metric? But don't you use the other system in the US?"

"Humor me."

The spider thought for barely a nano-klik as the group made it up the first flight of stairs, a second one a short walk ahead for them. "Well, I'm about 20 feet tall… So roughly 6.096 meters."

"Uhm-hmm." While Diana was no mathematician, she was anything but poor at estimation. When one had to deal with artifacts – big or small – from other countries that used a different system, knowledge of conversion rates was a must. "This building, whatever name you give it, looks to be something like four hundred kilometers wide."

"So it's a big pyramid… err, ziggurat, or whatever." Kicker was slightly more comfortable now that they weren't going uphill, but still not inside of his comfort zone. "What's so important about that measurement?"

Diana grinned from ear to ear, eyes gleaming that shine any archaeologist had whenever a new discovery was made. "Call it a hunch, but I think we just found what we're looking for."

A second flight of stairs later and the group reached the topmost level. Before them stood a semi-pyramidal structure, a set of pillars lining the walkway leading to its entrance. Just as Diana began to marvel at the structure itself, eagerly hoping for a chance to get some photographs in with her digital camera, rapid footfalls sounded from the entrance.

"Backstop! What are you doing here?!"

Emerging from the structure came a mech slightly taller than Backstop, the vehicular parts on his body suggesting a helicopter alt-mode and his colors being a bright red and deep, semi-translucent blue leaning towards indigo. Snarl reached for his sword, but the rhino motioned for him to halt. "My apologies, old friend, but we have a grave problem before us." The helo halted, optics taking notice of the injured Repugnus in Backstop's arms. "As well as wounded."

The newcomer looked over Repugnus's injuries with growing concern on his red optics, their significance dawning on him. From a distance, Diana quickly took note of the helo's Decepticon emblem, which made her even more curious. "You were right to bring them here. Who attacked them like this?"

"That… would be me."

The newcomer looked up as Scorponok spoke and narrowed his optics suspiciously. "That isn't your original color scheme, is it?"

A growl sounded among them and Scourge, having dropped off the human soldiers in his arms, stomped forward with all the indicators of his patience fast dropping to zero. "What does all this matter?! Who are you and are you able to help or not?!"

"My name is Topspin, Lord Scourge." The Decepticon helicopter stood his ground as the dragon towered over him. "And I will help, these two injured as well as the larger one, but the rest of you will need to remain outside."

"Which leads me to another point – what is this building doing in the middle of the jungle?!"

"It is here… because I built it here."

All fell silent as another form emerged from the entryway. He stood tall, easily matching Scourge's height, armor a deep blue and black with details of white and gold. The familiar head and neck of a traditional European dragon replaced where his left hand would be, while a pair of wings hung down from his back like a cape.

"You will have to forgive my associate, Scourge, as he's quite protective of me. I can hardly say I blame him, as until Backstop came along, we had none but ourselves for company." His voice was placid, almost friendly, but with strength and age behind it. As the mech spoke, he reminded Diana of both Vector Prime and the old recording of Methius Prime on Earth. "Topspin, take the wounded inside and whoever else you need to help bring them in, then start treating them. The time for hiding is over."

Topspin nodded, taking Repugnus from Backstop's arms and careful of the crude attempts at stitching and bandages on his wings. He beckoned for Snarl and Scorponok to follow and they did, carrying Overhaul along with them.

"My apologies for keeping to the shadows for so long, but I needed to remain hidden for a very good reason. What I hold is most precious, Scourge, and not to be used foolishly."

The dragon stared at the ancient mech, still in astonishment. "Who are you?"

The older Cybertronian smiled faintly. "In the beginning, there was the One. From the One came the Two, and from the second of those Two came the Thirteen. I am of them… and my name is Draco Prime."

"I knew it!" Optics and eyes alike turned to Diana, her excitement getting the best of her. "I'm sorry, but I knew it couldn't be a coincidence! This structure, it's some kind of façade, isn't it? Somewhere underneath us is the ship that brought you here from Cybertron after a detour to Earth eons ago! _Lemuria_!"

Draco's optics rested upon her in astonishment for a few moments before he regained his composure. "Earth? Then all of you… tiny organics… " His gaze swept over the gathered humans and a joyful smile grew on his face. "You are all from the world I visited so long ago with my siblings! The one my brother had remained on! I never expected to see its inhabitants again." He sharply turned back to Scourge. "Clearly, we have more to discuss than I first suspected, but I ask for your patience. We're expecting other guests."

"'Other guests'?" Scourge's disbelief turned to surprise as the familiar roar of engine fire sounded off above everyone's heads. They looked up as one, Crystal at last setting down her passengers, as the _Flash Frenzy_ descended from above and came in for a landing atop the second level of the building. "Huh. Is there anyone else we should be expecting?"

* * *

Lights flashing on with their entrance into what Snarl presumed was a medical bay, Topspin quickly laid Repugnus out onto an empty berth and began activating assorted scanner units. "How long has it been since the attack upon them?"

"Less than a mega-cycle." Snarl set Overhaul upon a second berth.

"And generally with bladed instruments, charged with some… arcane energy." The helo turned from the initial readings to Scorponok. "Your coloration – have you always looked like that?"

Scorponok slowly shook his head. "This was… anything but a willing change."

"I suspected as much – lay down upon that berth there. I'll need to do a full analysis, spark extraction–"

The larger Decepticon sat up violently at those words just as he was about lie down, swinging a claw. "SPARK EXTRACTION?! ARE YOU–?!" He fought to regain control of himself, heaving heavily as his cooling systems kicked into gear. "Why such a process?"

If Topspin was shaken by his patient's sudden outburst, even with being just clipped on the head, he showed no outward sign. "You've had something inside of you, some energy which altered your physical form and something that powerful may have damaged your spark. Removing it will allow me to better examine it and will not damage it either way. Now, rest."

Concern still clear on his face, Scorponok laid back, his optics going black. Without another moment's hesitation, Topspin approached and held his hands over the large mech's chest.

"You're certain this won't hurt him?" Snarl asked, wary of such a procedure.

"Quite certain, as I've done it many times for Draco Prime." Red optics dimmed and the smaller mech's hands took on a brilliant crimson glow. Color faded from Scorponok's body as flashes of purplish-blue energy formed over his chest, slowly growing and bubbling until the familiar pulsating blue spheroid of a Transformer's spark sat safely in the helicopter's hands. He cradled it gently, carefully moving it into a waiting semi-transparent cylinder. The spark contained, Topspin closed the canister and turned back to his other two patients. "And thankfully, he's the only one I'll need to do that for. The damage to the two of you is purely physical."

"Purely, he says." Repugnus tentatively felt at his wings, the bandages holding but no sign of proper healing being done. "These should've healed by now…" His optics grew wide as his organic components began to look diseased.

Overhaul looked little better, the areas where he'd been struck by Scorponok and Darkwing on his armor beginning to look brittle. One bit of armor on his arm was clearly cracked, a few bits beginning to shatter and break off. "What got into her?"

"I suspect Scorponok was imbued with energies shortly after his capture, causing his physical touch to become, for lack of a better term, corrosive. Whoever sapped the energies from him is no doubt in a similar case." A surprised look from Snarl, and the helicopter shrugged. "Well, do you have any other explanation?"

Silence hung in the air until a new voice answered, "Actually, that makes sense." Heads turned, and Topspin stood in surprise as an Autobot bearing his colors entered, immediately moving towards the wounded Overhaul. "My apologies – my name is Breakaway. I am here to help with the wounded."

Still surprised, the small Decepticon nodded. "Yes, of course, go on. I'm sorry, but your coloration… Did you come alone, or with others?"

"With four others, two of whom share our colors and specifications." Breakaway looked around, and quickly asked, "Is there some Energon handy? My healing abilities require the use of Energon."

"The blue button to your left opens the medical stores – we've a small stockpile in there." Moving as indicated, the Autobot opened the small door and quickly generated an Energon chip for himself before moving to Overhaul. "Whatever you're doing, I hope that it works."

Fully aware that he wasn't providing much assistance, Snarl turned to leave. "I should inform Scourge of what's going on. Send word if anything comes up."

"Of course." As the white wolf departed, Breakaway turned to his now found brother with a raised optic ridge. "Now Topspin, how exactly did you get here?"

* * *

"Topspin came to me by what one would call a paradox, in simpler terms of time travel." Draco Prime led the new arrivals into the temple, torches arrayed around them providing fair lighting in a massive hall. "As he explained it, he came online shortly after the end of a war with a race known as the… Quintessons? Something similar to that. At any rate, he explained to us that he had been sent back to finish a time loop by my brother, Vector Prime."

"Time travel?" Most of the Army Rangers looked equally incredulous, but Donnelly was the only one to speak up, albeit hesitatingly as if unsure. "That's crazy. That's only in, like, comic books and stuff."

"It's more common than you'd think." Kicker wisely kept his own trip through time quiet. "What I'd like to know is why Vector Prime kept this to himself for so long."

"Divulging information on the time stream in advance can have terrible consequences if done improperly," Beta Maxx explained. "Besides, he was needed here."

"Couldn't have been for the décor." Epps glanced over the walls, large carvings of impressive Earth and non-Earth beasts adorning each side. "This place could definitely use some fixing up."

"I'm afraid decorations were the last thing on my mind when this structure was built." The group reached a stone throne, not particularly extravagant but large enough for Draco or Scourge to comfortably sit in, and the ancient mech slowly descended onto it, his right arm aiding him. "We two built this structure thousands of meta-cycles ago, long before this world was colonized or before human civilization had begun to take root."

Scourge gave his mentor a disgruntled look, more amazed than betrayed. "And how long have you known of this?"

"Since shortly after you succeeded me as colonial governor." Backstop sounded most relaxed of anyone at the circumstances, and jokingly explained, "I had to do something with my retirement."

"Please don't hold your teacher in too low a regard for this, Scourge. His secrecy was at my request."

A reluctant grunt in consent before turning back to the elder Prime. "The Key of Power, yes?"

"It needed to remain secret for as long as possible, lest others misuse it or, even worse, destroy it." He nodded to the humans. "The Key is still here, safely tucked away. And I assume by your presence, you've also found my brother Methius' Artifact?"

"The Key of Wisdom's back on Cybertron, reunited with the Omega Lock. In fact, finding it helped lead us here." Diana looked up at Scourge and Overcast as she spoke. "But something tells me we can't leave with it just yet."

"Not if Talon's still going around with Darkwing or whoever in control." The aerospace fighter placed both hands on his hips. "Care to explain why Optimus thought it'd be a good idea to have a femme with FSS go on this little scavenger hunt?"

"I didn't even know she had it," protested the spider.

"Wait, FSS?"

"Fractured Spark Syndrome," Backstop clarified for Lennox. "It is a psychological condition among us, roughly equivalent to Dissociative Identity Disorder although far easier to positively identify." At the Army captain's unfamiliarity with the term, he elaborated, "Talon has multiple personalities, specifically, two. Darkwing is the second, a far colder and more ruthless personality. The root cause is literally a fractured spark, one that is still capable of functioning but was inexplicably damaged prior to gaining a body. Primus only knows how this occurs, but it is normally preventable. Scavenger had her come here in the hopes that I would be able to treat the condition, perhaps even cure it. Clearly, however, we have greater problems."

"That is perhaps the greatest understatement I've had the displeasure to hear recently."

Those gathered turned towards the entrance as the remaining crew of the _Flash Frenzy_ trained their weapons, instantly recognizing the new arrivals. "Hold it, Terrorcons."

Dinobot and Chromehorn did as told by Landquake, the former holding up his free arm. "We come in peace! We've no intention to fight!"

"This is your plan? Surrender to these glitches? Oh, marvelous, I was better off with the psycho Autobot and her friends. At least then I'd've died with–"

"Divebomb, for once in your life, shut up!!" The condor snapped his mouth as Backstop and Scourge approached, and Dinobot regarded them. "Lord Scourge, I am Dinobot of the Terrorcons. These are–"

"I know who you traitors are." Optics narrowed in disdain, he swept a calculating gaze at the quartet. "For what reason have you come here?"

"To seek help. Two of my comrades are injured, and the rest of my unit was attacked, presumably by this 'Talon' whom you speak of." He jerked his head at the others. "Divebomb received serious injury, and Battle Ravage was severely drained of Energon. The rest are dead, killed by our attacker and two others."

A pained wheeze from the cougar seemed to confirm the Velociraptor's claim, the Animatros governor glancing over briefly. "How did you get here?"

"We came by ship – it left us behind as the others were massacred."

Chromehorn's voice remained quiet, but something told Scourge he was being truthful. He looked to the arrivals from the _Flash Frenzy_. "Can they be helped?"

Skyfall looked as if he wanted to keep his weapons trained on the four Terrorcons but relaxed somewhat. "Breakaway can heal those injuries easily, but keep guards on them. Several of them."

Snarl reappeared from an adjoining hallway. "Topspin and Breakaway have started work."

Scourge glanced at his lieutenant for a short moment before turning back to the new arrivals. "There's more waiting for them. Get these two to them and make sure once they're healed that they are locked away somewhere." Snarl nodded, walking to them and gently picking up both injured Terrorcons, carrying him back the way he came. "Now, two others?"

"The first one was mostly grey and light blue, called himself 'Dreadwing'," Chromehorn answered, transforming to robot mode and appearing as if he just wanted to drop to the ground. "He was lean, looked like he had some kind of boat for an alt-mode. The other one was bulkier, with some glowing object in his chest. We didn't catch his name."

"What did he look like?" Draco Prime rose to his feet sharply. "Was his body as black as tar, burning as if lit by the Inferno itself?"

"No, he…"

"…was wide, with twin tan horns sprouting from the sides of his head and hoof-like feet, two tusks stained red emerging from his shoulders, and shaggy mats of fur hanging from his body like chunks of a shell." Those gathered turned, and an explanation was given. "He's called Nemesis Prime. We've met."

Just at the edge of the staircase, much to the surprise of Scourge and the rest, was the Autobot leader. Standing beside him were several other Transformers – Wing Saber, Longhorn, Cheetor and the Decepticon tech-orgs stood to his right, assorted Mini-Con partners and the Sky Defense Team at their feet, while Wreckloose, Undermine and Brimstone stood to his left, marveling at the temple just as the other Animatros residents had earlier.

"Optimus Prime." A slight growl rested in Scourge's words. "What are you doing here?"

"My apologies, Lord Scourge, but I couldn't get in touch with you concerning their arrival." Wreckloose's tone indicated more than a little reluctance to admit this.

"Not surprising, considering the interference in this area." Draco Prime stepped past the other dragon and took a good look at the surprised younger Prime. "Optimus, is it? I've heard good things about you... but we can discuss that later. We have a situation to deal with."

Still not quite believing his optics, a nod from the red semi. "Of course. But I need to speak with my troops. Where are they?"

Crystal stood to attention, quickly saluting. "Optimus, sir. Talon has gone AWOL – Darkwing took over and she became possessed by some energy when she siphoned it from when Scorponok ambushed us before disappearing. Beyond attacking the Terrorcons shortly after their arrival, we don't know where she is. Overhaul and Repugnus were injured in battle – they're currently receiving treatment."

The Autobot leader's frame tensed and several of his troops grew anxious at the news. "Show me."

* * *

"Two more for you."

Topspin waved towards a pair of waiting benches. "Lay them over there. Breakaway, you have a look at them."

Optics narrowed beneath his visor, the ancient Autobot jet pursing his lip components upon realizing who his patients were. "Must I?"

Despite his damage, Divebomb couldn't help but snicker as he looked at the ruby jet and the other patients. "Well, never thought I'd see the day – Prime's pet berserkers laid low. And look, it's the mech who supplied us with all that nice Energon. Thanks, by the way – best recharge I've had in ages."

"Wouldn't get him angry if I were you." Overhaul strained himself to sit up, glaring at the Terrorcon flier. "He might just decide to skip out on healing you… or worse."

The falcon cackled. "Yeah, like that's supposed to–"

Divebomb soon found himself forcibly pushed onto the empty bench, Battle Ravage more gently laid out beside him. Before he could protest, the crackling end of one of Breakaway's Energon batons pointed at his head.

"You took from me something I was charged to protect. Not all of it, but enough. Unless you wish for me to permanently put an end to your suffering for that, I suggest you keep yourself quiet."

If Divebomb was in any way concerned, he showed no outward sign. "You wouldn't."

"If he didn't, then I would." The Terrorcon glanced toward the entrance to see Scourge entered, followed closely by the two Primes. With angrily narrowed optics and curled fists, the governor of Animatros added, "And I have a low tolerance for traitors."

Divebomb wisely chose to quiet himself and get comfortable, Breakaway storing his weapon and beginning his scans.

That problem dealt with, Scourge walked over to Topspin. "How is he?"

"Scorponok?" The smaller Decepticon briefly glanced at the prone body before him, reaching over and picking up the occupied canister containing its spark. "I have good news and bad news. The bad news is that his body has been permanently altered by the energies poured into him – that coloration will remain on the body until his spark is extinguished, perhaps longer. The odd bits of damage however – scratches, cracks, a pair of curious puncture marks in his claws – can and have been fixed. Those same energies, meanwhile, contaminated his spark, no doubt the cause of his aggressive outbursts. Fortunately, that's also the good news – those residuals have dropped substantially since I extracted his spark. Once I–"

"Extracted his spark?!"

Draco held his left arm before Scourge, holding him in check. "Relax. Topspin has performed that same procedure countless times upon me, and I've suffered no ill effect. Scorponok will be fine."

"And restoring it will be no problem." Topspin gestured towards the other injured. "The rest I haven't had a proper chance to check over yet, but they clearly aren't having the same problem as Scorponok."

Optimus turned towards his two soldiers. "How are you feeling?"

The green brawler glanced at his wound, carefully probing it with one finger. The cracks in his armor becoming increasingly clear, he groaned and shook his head. "Not good."

"And getting worse." Breakaway turned away from the two Terrorcons to face the Autobot leader. "These two hooligans have little more than heavy armor damage, in the cat's case severe Energon drainage. I can heal that damage without any problems. Those two, however, are facing something worse, that of some variety of cybernetic virus delivered by bladed instruments." Curious looks from the others, he elaborated, "More than one."

Overhaul's optics went from the most prominent of his injuries, a massive tear in his right shoulder, to the blades resting upon Scorponok's arms. "Three guesses where the big ones came from."

"Scorponok never possessed weapons like that in the past," Scourge noted in amazement.

"They're probably a byproduct of the same energies he was infused with before – an accelerated virus designed to cause slow, systematic failure in a given Transformer's systems." Topspin looked to his old friend, a smile growing on his face. "Fortunately, I've seen this before."

As his friend began to check in storage lockers, Draco Prime explained, "I've faced similar problems in the past. In order to combat the problem, Topspin removes my spark and purges as much of the virus as possible with a high concentration of radiation."

"How did you end up with it?"

The elder Prime gave a slight smile and nod to the younger. "It is a very long story. I'll explain once they are on the mend."

At last, Topspin managed to locate two spark canisters and then quickly rushed over to Overhaul and Repugnus. "Removing sparks are, thankfully, easy for me. This shouldn't be difficult at all." He reached over, energy crackling between his fingers, and started to remove Overhaul's spark. As his fingers touched the Autobot's chest, however, the energy cut off. "What the–?"

"What's wrong?" Despite himself, Overhaul looked scared. "What happened?"

"I'm not sure…" Topspin quickly set aside the canister and looked over the scans of the two Autobots. "Oh dear… Draco doesn't have this. You have some sort of additional bit of protection within your spark casing… and it looks like…"

"Destronium plates." Repugnus gave a sardonic smile. "The Quints began planting us with tracking devices late in the war, and destronium was the only thing that could block the frequency those things went out on. By that point they'd all but been driven from the planet, although a lot of us that had been given life once the things were found had the stuff installed. And in addition to blocking certain wavelengths, it also blocks out most forms of electromagnetic energy. Which is probably how you extract sparks, if the extractors we have on Cybertron are any indication. Am I right?"

Topspin nodded. "That's correct, yes. And the radiation I use to combat the virus in Draco Prime is enough to destabilize a spark, hence the extractions. I can't risk treating them if their sparks remain in their bodies, Optimus."

"Can't you just pry open my armor or something, expose my spark before pulling it out?"

Topspin shook his head at Overhaul's suggestion. "That would risk damaging the stabilizers within your spark chamber, or the mechanisms involved in your Cyber Key weapon. And even if it did work for you…"

"It wouldn't work for me." The red and gold tech-org's optics dimmed in frustration. "Thanks to the rapid healing abilities in all us techno-organics, whatever hole that's dug into me would get sealed up in a nano-klik." His next words were spoken with absolute certainty. "We're dead."

Optimus narrowed his optics. "Not yet you're not." He looked at Topspin and ordered, "Do what you can to heal them. Analyze that virus, stave it off, whatever you think necessary. Just keep them alive until we can figure something out."

Topspin was about to protest, but the look in the Autobot leader's optics kept him from protesting. "And Scorponok?"

"If it's safe to do so, wake him up. We'll need every body we can get." He nodded at the injured Terrorcons. "That goes for them, too."

The Autobot jet tilted his head in consent and quickly started on recharging Battle Ravage. "We'll need guards."

"Snarl." Scourge's order went unsaid, but the ivory wolf nodded, his optics fixed on the two Terrorcons as Topspin began returning Scorponok's spark to his body.

* * *

It felt… peaceful. Amazingly peaceful, like a grassy field on a summer's day or the calm succeeding a storm. Scorponok was aware that his spark was outside his body, but the knowledge did little to faze him. It was as if he was afloat in a pool of water, with no activity for kils around.

Then he began to feel it, just as he'd felt it when his spark had been torn from his body and placed in its current container – he was being moved again. On some level he wanted to fight it, to remain in this place of Zen, but he would have an easier time fighting the tide. He was tightly held, exposed, vulnerable, and beginning to feel the same push back into another shape and form… a more familiar one.

Systems came back on line as his audio receptors and optics booted back up to a familiar face. The sensations he'd felt before, the anger, rage and torment of his spark, had not completely faded but were far less than what they were before.

"Brother? Do you function?"

He glanced at his claws, studying them. He narrowed his optics uneasily. "Close enough." His gaze turned to Topspin. "Thank you." Scorponok then turned back to his sibling. "Scourge, we have a problem."

"I fear we have many problems." Draco Prime turned and made for the door, beckoning the others to follow. "Follow me. We've much to discuss, and we need to do it with privacy."

* * *

"In all my many cycles, I never dreamed of it." Reptilion's reverent gaze swept over the entire area, taking in all that he saw. "Do any of you realize what this is? Hallowed ground! A refuge for one of the greatest artifacts of our lord and creator!"

"And one big waste of stone and mortar." Longhorn studied the structure. "This thing was built over a spaceship. Whatever the reasoning, the instant that thing goes active, this entire structure will crumble. They should've just found a nice deep ocean to dump the thing in, save them a lot of trouble."

"Assuming you can find oceans deep enough on this planet." Frostbite's discomfort was obvious. "Animatros, the Jungle Planet. Humid, warm and wet. What I wouldn't give for a glacier right about now." He glanced back at the temple entrance. "Still, I'm glad we found this thing before anyone else did."

As the three tech-orgs chatted, another nervously approached Crystal Widow. "Hey… Glad you're alright. When the call came in from Velocitron and the Big Bot ordered us out here, well…"

The femme held up a finger to the cheetah's lips. "I appreciate the concern, Cheetor. We needed the help, and I'm glad you came. Also…" She reached out and wrapped her arms around the feline mech, much to his surprise, giving him a grateful hug. "Thanks… for never giving up on me."

A clear blush developing on his semi-organic cheeks, Cheetor was barely able to restrain himself. "Well, I'm not the only one who was worried and all…"

"You're right." Crystal pulled back. "Which is why Longhorn is getting one too, along with Airazor once we get back to Earth. You can go ahead and feel special, though – I got to you first, after all."

The cheetah nervously chuckled.

At their feet a small distance away, Diana couldn't help but laugh. "Good for them."

Sparkplug and Mirage both shared her smile. "If only all of us were that fortunate." The Mini-Con leader side-glanced his fellow mech. "Any sign of them yet?"

"No, but something tells me they're here. Call it a hunch, but I've got a good feeling that Nemesis Prime wouldn't waste having one of us Core Weapons handy if he could."

"Core Weapons?" Lennox echoed, having overheard the trio's conversation. "Sorry, but I hear something like that, I can't help but get worried. What are they supposed to be?"

"The Core Weapons were a set of five weapons created by our people eons ago, each made up of a team of three Mini-Cons. My team forms the Skyboom Shield, one of the most powerful shields in existence. One of the two Mini-Con teams we ran into back on COBRA Island, the Speed Chaser Team, forms another one, the Magnawing Shield."

"The five were all created about the same time," Diana continued for Mirage. "No one's quite sure how, but they ended up being amazingly powerful. Attempts were made to try and recreate them, but didn't have much luck."

"Our guess was it was something special about how all our sparks were tied together, but that's just a theory, hypothesis really." The F-1 racer shook his head. "Still, somehow their sparks were taken from them, leaving them close to being what your people call zombies."

Donnelly did a double-take, not expecting that. "How'd that happen?"

* * *

"Primus help me if I ever live through anything of that sort again… The first time was an experience I would not wish upon my greatest enemy."

Based on what he saw as he looked around and what Evac had shown him of _Atlantis_, Optimus could only guess that the room they now found themselves in was _Lemuria_'s control center. Scorponok sat upon the command chair, the others ringed around him at assorted control stations.

"My ship, the _Ravager_, had managed to make it within sensor range of Nebulos before we were attacked – an army swarmed the ship, knocked out engines and weapon systems, and the few members of my crew who survived were dragged from the ship by our attackers, unable to fight back. We were taken to something else… Something immense, larger than any ship in any of the two fleets and far more dangerous. It looked like a planet… A ringed planet, except that the rings did not simply encircle it, they–"

"–were connected to the planet itself." Draco's voice was grave. "Continue."

Scorponok struggled to find the words. "It definitely was not a planet, however. My crew and I were taken inside by our captors. One by one they… They killed my crew, the one named Dreadwing sinking his claws into them and draining away their life force. But their sparks weren't extinguished – they were harvested, along with countless other sparks and spirits from Nebulos itself, and then sealed away in a crystal they called the Doom Stone. They wrapped it in a gilded silver frame, patterned after the Matrix."

"Which explains where Nemesis Prime got his," Optimus mused. "That 'planet' was Unicron, wasn't it?"

"Correct, although it begs the question of why." The elder Prime studied Scorponok with unwavering optics. "Why did they spare you, why infuse you with those energies?"

The bulky Decepticon shook his head. "I have no idea."

"Psychological purposes, more than likely. They wanted him in order to get to us." Scourge snarled. "Unicron must be destroyed, just as he destroyed Nebulos."

"Much easier said than done." Draco slowly rose to his feet, hydraulics slightly more pronounced to human ears. "And right now, we have more immediate concerns. Primus left us the Artifacts so that Unicron may be combated, and it's clear at this point that the Key of Power cannot stay here on Animatros. It must be moved."

"It must be used!" The younger dragon rose to his feet, incensed at such a line of thinking. "We can bring it to bear against these Heralds, destroy them and their master–!"

"That… is not the intended use of the Key. Not by itself." The ancient mech shook his head at the much younger one. "Destruction is the work of Unicron. It is all he can do, all he is capable of, and there is no challenge to it. Everyone has the power to destroy… But few have the potential to create." He walked to a panel of wall and slid it open. "This is intended to create."

Revealed within the compartment and glowing a soft green was the familiar form of a Key. Like its fellow Key it was rimmed in gold, but where the border to Wisdom's was smooth and curved, the border to the Key of Power suggested the claws of a powerful beast.

"Besides, if we moved it from this place, it would be sensed immediately. The entire reason this ship is entombed beneath stone and mortar is because we can't risk its detection… and with Unicron's minions active on this world, it will be sensed in an instant. We will move it, but only once they are driven from this world or destroyed."

"Which means we need to find them and fight them." Optimus rose from his chair. "I've fought Nemesis Prime before and survived, and I can do it again. But I'm going to need all the help I can get."

Scourge turned to the younger Prime. "These things are on my world, Optimus. If anyone will play a role in evicting them, it will be me. You have my aid."

"And mine." Scorponok rose to his feet. "They turned me into this. It's long since time I returned the favor."

The Autobot leader nodded. "That still leaves Talon, however. We need to do something to help her."

For the first time all day, Scourge smirked conspiratorially. "I think I know someone who can help."

* * *

Dinobot looked over the surrounding jungles and spotted a clearing in the distance amidst the tree tops, feet stretched over several stairs while sitting at the edge of the temple's summit and blade laid across his lap. He couldn't help but find it strange that, from this far away, the deaths of his comrades were effectively invisible. Such a thought was, to say the least, depressing.

Though the presence of another behind him quickly dismissed that thought from his mind. "If you've a reason to speak, then do so."

"Easy enough." Predacon approached from behind, not sitting with the Terrorcon but keeping a polite distance. "My apologies for the deaths of your comrades, Dinobot. What happened to them was unfortunate and cruel, and few deserve such fates."

"I somehow doubt that others will feel the same." The Velociraptor rose to his feet, careful of where he was standing and glanced at the tech-org. "We were never popular, even before Command Ravage joined with Megatron. I doubt very much that those of us left will be received well."

Predacon tilted his head in acknowledgement. "Perhaps. Under current circumstances, however, you and your fellows may receive a reprieve. We are faced with dire circumstances, and individual records speak just as well as associated ones. While Divebomb and Battle Ravage have no fans among the Dinobots, you at least are still fondly thought of by Skydive. Regrets, yes, but fond memories."

A sharp look. "Do you still think so fondly of Terrorsaur?"

The Tyrannosaur didn't flinch, but pursed his lip components. "No, but his betrayal cuts far deeper."

A few raised shouts from behind them and the two turned to watch as the gathered leaders emerged once more from the inner parts of the temple, the captive Terrorcons following under the careful watch of their jailer and healers. They approached just as the archaeologist among them looked up at the leaders. "Please tell me there's good news."

"Unfortunately, there isn't much." Optimus glanced about the gathered humans and Transformers. "The Key is here and for the moment safe, but we can't move it, not until those who attacked the Terrorcons are dealt with and the energies infecting Talon have been purged."

"You mean you want to help that crazy femme?" Divebomb's optics were wide with disbelief. "That thing tore us apart!"

"She is a victim, even more than you." Topspin's voice remained firm. "Scorponok here suffered a similar ailment for much longer, and he is all but recovered now. If we act fast enough, we may even be able to prevent permanent physical effects."

"What about Overhaul and Repugnus? How are they holding up?"

"There isn't much that can be done for them, at least for now." Crystal Widow grew depressed at her leader's words, but returned her attention to him as he continued, "At the moment, however, we can't do anything with them unless we defeat the Heralds here. We need to split our resources – three separate teams, each with a specific objective." He turned to the Autobot flyer. "Wing Saber, you're with me, Scourge, and Scorponok. Nemesis Prime is the major threat, so he needs to be taken out. That's our job."

"That still leaves this Dreadwing guy and Talon." Overcast's voice was hardly optimistic. "And we can't exactly go in guns blazing with her."

"Which is why we need to entrap her and purge the influence of Unicron from her." Backstop stepped forward. "The entire reason she was on this world to begin with was so that I could help her, which makes at least part of that mission my responsibility."

Scourge looked to his mentor, still feeling more than a little resentful at not being given full disclosure but beginning to understand. "Backstop-sensei, I cannot allow you to do this. Not alone." He studied his troops briefly. "Wreckloose, you will accompany him. Incapacitate her as you see fit."

With a nod from the Decepticon lizard, Crystal spoke up once more. "My webbing helped to hold off Scorponok when we were attacked earlier, it might be able to help catch Talon."

"And you're gonna need someone to lead her into whatever trap you guys set up, right?" Cheetor was more than enthusiastic. "Talon's fast, but this cat's faster."

The optics of Cheetor's Mini-Con partner glittered in a human eye-rolling fashion. "Here we go again."

The old rhino chuckled. "Very well. Then each of you are with me."

"Everyone else will remain here – even if we manage to distract Talon and Nemesis Prime, that still leaves Dreadwing and whoever else he's brought with him. Hold him off and protect this temple. Whatever happens, they must NOT get in." With assorted sounds of assent and a few grumbles from the condor Terrorcon, Optimus nodded. "Fine then. Let's roll out."

The small mass parted to allow for the two groups to march down the stairs and depart. As they left, Epps raised the obvious question. "Not quite clear on the giant robot hierarchy here, but who's in charge here? Draco Prime?"

The older mech shook his head. "At most I am an advisor. Snarl is in charge, if I understand things properly."

A nod from the white and blue wolf. "And the first order of business is setting up a watch. Brimstone, Undermine, hold positions out here." A wary glare at the gathered Terrorcons. "And the four of you have a choice – aid in the defense, or get locked in whatever cells are present aboard _Lemuria_."

Divebomb scoffed. "You expect us to help you? You must be out of your–"

"For once in your existence, can't you simply cooperate?" Eyes and optics stared in surprise at Battle Ravage, the feline now speaking with what sounded to the humans like a Slavic accent. He transformed to his robot mode, arming himself with an Energon cannon. "Command Ravage is gone, and most of our unit with him. The chain of command leaves us… with Chromehorn."

The green bug gawked at his comrades in surprise. "Me?! But, I…"

A laugh from Dinobot. "Primus must have a sense of humor." Amusement in his optics, he tilted his head at his new commanding officer. "Orders?"

Still shocked, it took all Chromehorn had to nod, if somewhat faintly. "We're with you, at least until this is over."

"Fine. Battle Ravage is with them for this shift. You'll be relieved after one mega-cycle." The wolf knelt down to the gathered humans. "All of you should probably retreat inside of the temple. If we engage any of them, you'd be in greater danger than any of us."

"Maybe, but we didn't come here to hide." The Ranger team stood tall as Lennox addressed Snarl. "Last I checked, there was a treaty that said we were allies, and our mission here was defending Dr. Masters and her team. They're here. What they came for, who they came with, and all you 'bots needing help, are here."

"And while I neglected to request a vehicle or two, I definitely didn't forget about proper armaments." Diana gestured at the container Overhaul had originally brought with him. "That cargo container held weapons that we can use to hurt a Transformer if necessary. We've managed to salvage most of the ammo and they're carrying the guns with them."

"We didn't ask to be here, but this is where we are. This we'll defend." Resoluteness from Lennox's eyes was equally matched by his men.

Snarl's expression remained blank for a few seconds, before an unmistakable smile curled on his face. "Very well. Lock and load then, but make sure you're ready for what's coming." He nodded at the others. "The same goes for everyone else."

As the gathered Transformers milled about to their assigned duties, Diana turned towards the Army captain with an amused side-look. "Using the Army motto for an argument. I don't know if I should call that impressive or corny."

"Maybe a little of both," he admitted, running a hand through his hair after removing his helmet. "Regardless, we're better off on full stomachs. Break out the MREs."

As the humans began to sort through their packs for their rations, Draco Prime turned and went back towards the entrance to his old ship, his thoughts turning towards those below. There was little that could be done for them. Save, perhaps, one thing…

* * *

"So this is how it's going to end. Never thought it'd be like this, wasting away into nothing… I always thought I'd end up at the business end of a rifle, or skewered on a pike by someone without a healthy amount of fear." Repugnus glanced over at the Autobot beside him, and then turned away. "Not that it wasn't expected, of course. Everything dies, I've seen too much to argue differently. I was just hoping to see the fighting end before I did."

"Then why you fighting the way you do? Slag, why you fighting for us in the first place?"

A glance. "Believe it or not, you're the first one to ask me that. Might as well tell you, considering we're both on our way out. Yes, I can handle killing. It might not be fully in line with Autobot regs, but it got the job done. Unlike those nutcases and psychos working for Megatron, however, I'm smart enough to figure out exactly how my actions impact others. You and I both were around long enough to see what he did to the Mini-Cons – they're practically extinct thanks to him. If he had managed to conquer Cybertron and began some interstellar empire, we'd have even bigger problems, and lots of folks getting hurt and not being able to hold him back. Like I said earlier, as much as Prime likes the humans, they don't exactly have what it takes to hold back a Decepticon attack." A begrudging huff. "And as many problems I have with Prime's policies, I know he'll look out for 'em."

A laugh. "Yeah, he would. He looks out for us, after all. Who else'll stick his neck out for a crazy berserker who'll risk life and limb to get the job done?"

"Or me, the one Autobot that'll feel good after seeing a mech killed." His optics widened. "Holy slag, I think we're bonding."

"May as well." A few short seconds passed. "Wanna swap war stories?"

A shrug, or as much as he could shrug without causing further pain. "Sure. We aren't going anywhere."

* * *

Misha sniffed at the contents of her MRE, not entirely certain about it. "You're sure this is safe to eat?"

"Safe, yes." The soldiers had already begun digging in to their meals, Sam putting away at something that was supposed to be chicken and noodles with ease. "Taste is debatable."

A quick glance at Diana and Kicker, both already going into their packets, and the young woman finally relented, starting on her "beef stew". It wasn't bad… slightly overcooked, but not bad.

"All the nutrition a growing soldier needs on the field," Donnelly commented over his pasta. "And another reason to miss home. Soonest I get leave, I've got a date with a dog and a cold one at Fenway."

"Stuff like that'll get you killed. You want a real meal, you get some home cooking. You taste my wife's chicken marsala, you'll swear you were in heaven." Epps grinned. "Course, some of us have something really nice waiting for us at home."

"Hey, no bugging the kid over that girlfriend of his," Lennox admonished, playfully pointing with his spork.

"Talking about my girls, captain, but if you want me to rub Witwicky about that..."

Laughter broke out among the troops, Sam smiling along. "Yeah, yeah, that's enough."

"Seriously though, the girl Witwicky has waiting for him at home? Nothing like the girls I knew in high school." One of the specialists with the unit gave a small whistle in appreciation.

"What's her name?" Misha asked curiously.

A small grin. "Mikaela Banes. We kinda grew up with each other, y'know? No idea why she latched onto me though."

"It's simple – girls like guys with a sense of humor." Diana smiled fondly, giving a small laugh as she scooped up more of her jambalaya. "It's true. I've dated six guys since high school, and all of them knew how to make me laugh." She took another bite of her meal, and smiled as she savored the flavor, never mind the texture.

Lennox stared at the doctor in amazement. "I'm surprised you like this stuff so much. Army brat?"

"If you can call me that. I grew up in a small town in rural Colorado, and every summer for a couple weeks my dad would take all of us out camping. We didn't have much to eat, and short of living off the land, most of what we did have were LRP rations. These, however, are a marked improvement." Putting aside her spork for a second, she downed some water from her canteen to wash the texture down. "And no, Dad wasn't in the Army, although he did serve with the Marines in the other unpopular war."

Kicker blinked in surprise, spork in mouth. "Grandpa served in Vietnam?"

A nod. "He doesn't like to talk about it much though. Received several medals for various missions, as well a Purple Heart… All that almost made up for all he saw there, plus him getting eggs tossed at him by a protestor. Not a happy time for him, but he managed to find a few people to talk about it with."

A respectful smile grew on Lennox's face. "No wonder you sound like you actually respect our job."

"It's not the people on the ground you need to have issue with in terms of a war, captain – it's the people in charge giving them nothing but trouble," she noted dryly.

Epps raised his canteen as if to toast. "Amen to that."

* * *

"This… is… boring."

Nemesis Prime gave a glance towards the femme. "Restrain yourself. We will find them, or they will find us. Either way, your boredom will end."

Their third looked up into the sky. "I sense something. We have a visitor."

Dreadwing's statement was quickly verified as a darkened form flew over them at high speeds, limbs outstretched and jets emerging from its sides. A cruel smile crossing her face, Darkwing transformed and flew after him in pursuit.

As he watched her depart, the larger herald laughed. "Divide and conquer. A foolish gesture, but it makes things more interesting."

"More are coming."

"Clearly. You can still see the trail – take the small ones and follow it."

"And you?"

"I have business. Go."

The wraith studied his associate for a few short seconds before wordlessly looking to the Mini-Cons at his feet. They nodded and faded from view. He followed shortly thereafter, leaving Nemesis Prime alone.

Had he a mouth, he would have smiled. This was what he was waiting for.

"Do come out, wherever you are. I know you are here, and I know that you are not alone. It's just like the first time we met."

"No."

A small explosion and he stumbled back, his armor damaged but swiftly reforming before taking sight of his opponents. The beast, now free, with ready cannons in his arms and his tail pointed over his head. The leader of Animatros, a massive axe in one hand. And Optimus Prime, standing firm with one of his subordinates alongside him.

"That time, we all walked away. This time, you won't be that lucky."

A cold chuckle at the Autobot leader. "Very well then. Let us begin."

* * *

"Must you drag me into these situations?!"

"Come on, Cliff! Enjoy the adventure!"

"Visiting Animatros is an adventure! Getting chased by a possessed comrade with a split personality is closer to suicide! We're just lucky she isn't shooting at us!"

"Nah, that's what Talon'd do! Darkwing's more–!" Cheetor veered to one side, dodging a slung chain-blade. "...up close and personal!"

Cliffjumper stifled a groan, glad that her partner was among the faster of the Autobots in terms of flying speeds at short distances. "Wreckloose, please tell me whatever you have planned is in place!"

"_Still working on it. Keep her busy."_

'_Marvelous,' _the Mini-Con thought to herself. She suddenly wished that she'd simply stayed behind.

* * *

"So these guys took down the Terrorcons." Undermine shuddered. "Not looking good."

"And two of the guys they possessed took down Repugnus." A shiver went up Brimstone's spinal servos. "Definitely not looking good."

"If you two are finished…" A quick nod from Battle Ravage and the two looked down towards the edge of the jungle. "We have company."

He had barely shimmered into view, followed by the Mini-Cons accompanying him. Dreadwing looked up towards the temple's summit, Bilge and Freeboot of the Aqua Raider Team linking up with ports on his arms and the members of the Speed Chaser Team combining. The Magnawing Shield floated into his waiting left hand, and the wraith approached the temple, leisurely pacing up the steps.

The two Animatros natives more than a little shocked, the Terrorcon calmly brought his firearm online and activated his comm.-line. "We have one attacker at the temple steps – it's Dreadwing. No weapons loaded, two Mini-Cons Powerlinked and the Magnawing Shield armed. Second team, stay sharp."

Their attacker deployed two cannons from his back and opened fire, the cougar responding in turn with his own cannon. Undermine and Brimstone pulled back for a second as a reptilian form skittered up one of the nearby columns, racing to the top before taking hold with his strong fingered claws and literally spitting missiles at the attacker.

Little damage was done to Dreadwing as Predacon, Longhorn, Frostbite and the Tyrannosaur's two partners took positions.

"You sure you want to do this?" The Decepticon wolf regarded the Autobot ram for a second. "We aren't exactly going in with a sure victory."

"You might be comfortable with being awake after a four-million stellar-cycle slumber, but I've still got some aggression to work out." Longhorn hefted his weapon, his curved horns in beast mode crackling with energy between them, and took aim. "Better him than Prime, right?"

A shrug from Frostbite as Predacon joined in the fire with his cannon. "Just make sure your aim doesn't veer too much. Side Burn, Skid-Z, if you'd be so kind?"

"Of course!" The brown Mini-Con enthusiastically jumped up and linked up with his partner, his red comrade following shortly with some amusement clear on his face.

* * *

"_Sounds like we've got some company, Captain. Any sign of him?"_

"No doc, although from the sounds of things, he just got started." Lennox's troops had already taken positions at both sides of the temple entrance, grenade launchers already loaded with 40mm sabot rounds and their remaining ammunition secured in place within easy reach. Relaxation had given over to military calm of being prepared for anything possible, peripherally aware of their larger compatriots crouching over them and doing likewise. "Question about that shield thing the Speed Chasers combine into. It's supposed to be pretty powerful defensively speaking, correct?"

"_Strong enough, but nothing's unstoppable. Besides, you've got something better."_

Lennox briefly glimpsed towards Mirage and his team, the three on the opposite end of the doorway. "Hope you're right. You in cover?"

"_Deep in the temple with Draco Prime. Not much further we can go, or we'll be in _Lemuria_."_

"Well, keep down there. If we don't hold this thing off, you might just need to launch that thing and get that Key out of here."

"_Hoping it doesn't come to that. Good luck, captain."_

The line clicked off, and Lennox turned to the orange Mini-Con behind him, twin missile launchers mounted on his arms. "Sorry, not quite up on all the names. You're…?"

"Tankor, Sky Defense Team." He nodded curtly. "The Aqua Raiders come equipped with missile launchers. We can match 'em easily enough."

Somewhat reassured, Lennox returned the nod and faced back forward. "Every little bit helps."

* * *

"For the record, I'm hoping it doesn't come to us launching the ship either. No offense, but it can't be that easy to get it out from under the temple, right?"

Draco Prime shook his head at Misha's question. "The rocks we used to cover _Lemuria_ were meant to prevent it being noticed by conventional sensors, and as such are quite dense. Breaking through them is within our abilities, but it will take time and end up killing any survivors." The ancient Transformer grew visibly downcast. "Not exactly helping, am I? I seem to have a knack for that, then and now."

A curious look from Diana. "Then?"

"When Unicron first attacked Cybertron, my siblings and I were defeated and betrayed." Three pairs of eyes now looked at him in curiosity. "You never heard the story from Vector, I assume."

"He was never very talkative about that," Kicker admitted, uncomfortably fingering the rifle he was armed with. He was still trying to get back the hang of using a spare M4 Donnelly had found amongst the salvaged equipment, and Sam barely had time to give a refresher 101 on the carbine before rushing to join his teammates. While most of the world's armed forces had accepted weapons upgraded by Cybertronian tech back in his time line, a French-Vietnamese _capitaine_ had spoken frankly to the young adult that she preferred gunpowder and full-metal jackets to energy based rifles any day, a feeling echoed by a majority of other military and paramilitary personnel. Thus, Kicker was taught the finer points of Terran firearms – without his parents' knowledge – at the behest of a British army lieutenant he had somehow befriended. "Since we don't have anywhere to go and you brought it up…"

A tilt of the head in acknowledgement, and Draco Prime shifted slightly in his seat. "Ages ago, long before Earth's sun began to burn, Primus brought us to life – his First Thirteen – to aid him against his brother Unicron. Our bodies literally budded from the surface of our Creator, Sentinel Prime the first of us to be created and then Vector, who came second. Sentinel was much like Optimus, entrusted with the Matrix of Leadership, strong and brave, but he was far more distant from us than Optimus is to his soldiers. I could see as much when he spoke to Overhaul in the medical bay – Sentinel was never close to any of us."

"Leadership's a heavy burden."

"Perhaps, doctor, but he regretted it in the end. Such is the way of things – where there is love, there's always regret." His optics dimmed slightly, thoughts shifting. "Iunct Prime was the third of us to be created, and the Omega Lock was entrusted to him. He was content, friendly, balanced – take him anywhere, and he would find something to be pleased over. I miss him, even now." A light, somber sigh. "After him came Methius. He went to your world, and you clearly know of him. Have you met?"

Diana shook her head, still scribbling away notes. "He died long before I was born. The closest I came to meeting him was seeing a holographic message of him once."

"A shame. He was many things – wise, curious, attentive, and ever fearful of being alone. Leaving him behind on Earth is not something I was pleased with."

A comforting smile. "He wasn't alone though. He built many Transformers on Earth and gave them life with the Key of Wisdom. Three are even still alive. I've met them and they had nothing but nice things to say about him. He even inspired a few legends among my people."

The old mech's optics widened, and he laughed heartily. "So he's remembered. That is good. I hope the same can be said for Gaeus Prime." The younger humans looked at him in surprise. "Another of my brothers. He carried the Key of Unity, departed Cybertron with it long ago, heading in the opposite direction from the rest of us. He was similarly lonesome; I hope that he managed to do as Methius did. With luck, they speak as fondly."

"The way you talk, it sounds like there weren't any female Transformers among the Thirteen."

"I'm getting to them," the dragon assured Misha. "There were five femmes among the Thirteen, and only one carried an Artifact – Accellas Prime, the keeper for the Key of Velocity. She was cheerful, eager, the sort to dash into danger headfirst regardless of the odds, and she refused to let us forget the silver lining within any dark cloud. Just being with her was enough to brighten our darkest days. I hope she's still out there."

"Odds are good she is, and the team on Velocitron's getting to know her right now." Tapping her pencil on the small notebook, a thought crossed Diana's mind. "What about the other six?"

"Ah, them. Primus did not grant them artifacts to keep safe, but they did gain powers and weapons which we lacked. Zephyra was light and swift, the only one of us able to fly in either mode and able to generate strong winds. She was something of an artist and cultivated the Crystal Gardens of Nova Cronum."

Diana was mildly surprised. "She created them? I've seen images, and they're still as beautiful, even now."

"I'm glad they're appreciated. My sister only deserves so much credit, however – another of my siblings, Terratoph, helped her to unearth them. If you'd ever met her, you'd never forget her. Immense and easily powerful, armor a glittering gold and emerald, confident and strong. Her optics were hardly perfect, but she more than made up for that failing – all her other sensors were infinitely more refined. And amazingly, she got along well with Zephyra… With all of us, in truth, despite the fact we were siblings and literally had no one else to be with."

"And here I thought that problem was limited to just us," Diana dryly remarked, remember her squabbles with Miranda when they were younger.

"Iunct helped to settle many of our squabbles, doctor. Many times he was needed, many times he was not. Amazingly enough, aside from Zephyra and Terratoph, the ones who needed him the least were Nova and Dalvas. They were literally as different as night and day – Nova could generate bursts of light, and often spoke of his hope of our world shepherding budding civilizations following the defeat of Unicron, while Dalvas could create illusions, hide herself in plain sight with little effort, and was more than happy to stay home. Beyond them, there was Hydraqua Prime. Much like Nova, she knew life was out there and much like Dalvas, she knew it would find us. I sometimes wonder if Primus anticipated her hopes, given that he managed to gain an atmosphere that promoted liquid water." He sighed. "I wish they could be here to see you, and know that in some way, they are seeing what they always expected would come."

"That's twelve." Kicker looked up at the elder Prime carefully. "Who was the unlucky one?"

A dark laugh. "That's hardly the name he's been marked with. The last of us, Iskaros Prime, was gifted with mastery over fire and flame. It was no doubt Primus' intention that his flames be ones of cleansing and healing, but his flames have been nothing but a scourge to us since he fell."

"He died?"

"If only. No, he did not die – he merely fell, from his place alongside us and from his position in the hopes of our creator." A somber look came over his optics. "I do not know how it happened or why, but by the time that Primus had settled into orbit around his star, Iskaros betrayed us. Perhaps it was simple greed, perhaps madness; perhaps he sought power beyond that which Primus gave him… I do not know, and I find it hard to care now after so long. Unicron attacked us, and as we moved into position for the battle we'd waited our entire lives for, we were attacked from within." He stood up and spread his wings, making visible the gaps in them. "Iskaros infected each of us with a virus, its effects accelerated each time we transformed. The very thing that made us unique proved to be part of our undoing. It claimed all but those of us who held artifacts. Iunct was perhaps lucky… Iskaros was kind enough to kill him quickly in a bid to destroy the Omega Lock. He failed only because we intervened in time, and Vector was lucky enough to banish him to the depths of space." His hand clenched into a fist as he fell back into his seat. "But by then, we'd lost precious time. We barely had enough to use the Matrix of Leadership to wound Unicron, force him to depart. Where he went from there I have no idea, but I suspect he found Iskaros again, and made preparations for the next time he and his brother crossed paths."

"Vector Prime never mentioned anything about having a virus." Diana furrowed her eyebrows, now tapping on her notepad. What she wouldn't have given for anthropology courses… "Wouldn't it have claimed him by now?"

"You forget, my brother can manipulate time and space. The thought quickly occurred to him to localize his powers and use them specifically upon the virus in an effort to purge it from his body. It worked, but the strain was terrible… Too terrible to risk doing the same for those of us left. Sentinel passed shortly after Unicron was repelled, more due to injuries inflicted against Iskaros than the virus. Accellas's powers, her speed abilities, allowed her to significantly slow its spread… and it is only thanks to Topspin's radiation treatments that I remain online. Methius and Gaeus were far less lucky, and I wouldn't be surprised if the virus helped to hasten Methius' end. But Iskaros is still out there, still escaping the justice he richly deserves."

"He was the one you were describing earlier, when the Terrorcons arrived."

Draco nodded at the archaeologist. "I would not be surprised if he tried his hardest to finish what he started so long ago. He was anything but the type to leave something unfinished. And thanks to his betrayal, we are in far greater peril now than ever before."

Diana smirked. "I wouldn't call it quits just yet. I've seen the Transformers that have come into existence since your time. Vector may have given them a nudge or two, but they've been able to stand time and time again. There's still life, still hope, and none of us is about to give up on that."

The old Transformer regarded the woman for a few moments before smiling wistfully. "Methius must have been quite pleased with you and your people. Had he met you, I've a feeling he would have liked you very much." He rose to his feet, a thought forming in his mind. "And speaking of him, I think I have an idea."

The large mech marched off, prompting Kicker to ask, "Where are you going?!"

"To test a theory, and use what Primus gave me for its proper purpose." A doorway opening into what Diana assumed was _Lemuria_, the ancient mech entered, pausing briefly to look back at them. "As you said, there is still life."

* * *

Mortar blasts from the cannons mounted within Scorponok's claws did little to dissuade Nemesis Prime, his mace-like tonfa tearing apart incoming rounds with ease. As he closed in on the Decepticon, he barely had time to notice as Scourge charged him from one side, axe at the ready.

Pulling out his long cannon, the trunk of his mammoth beast mode dangling loosely from its end, he wrapped the trunk around the descending axe. Nemesis Prime then effortlessly flung the Decepticon dragon aside, only to find himself in the line of fire from his opposite.

The shots from Optimus's rifle did little to dissuade him, but prompted the herald to turn and fire upon the Autobot with the eight missiles carried in his shoulders. The warheads rocketed towards the red semi, exploding before impact thanks to a spray of laser fire.

More fire rained down upon Nemesis Prime from above, Wing Saber darting and weaving through the air with ease as his cannons laid down fire. Nemesis responded in turn by launching a salvo from his cannon, prompting the Autobot jet to spin and skid to a landing.

"We're hardly leaving a scratch!" Wing Saber called as he transformed and recovered himself. "There has to be something that can hurt him!"

"_Plenty can, but this guy's got a bad habit of patching himself up afterwards!" _Sparkplug's voice over the radio, safely linked up with Optimus's trailer and his drone vehicles, was anything but reassuring. _"But if we can distract him, and destroy that Dead Matrix from his chest…"_

"That's not an option! That thing has untold thousands of sparks and souls trapped inside of it - if we damage it, it could tear this planet apart!" A thought quickly formed in his mind, Optimus barely dodging a shot meant for his head. "So we get it off planet! Sparkplug, deploy my drones and call Omega down! Scourge, Scorponok, keep him distracted! Wing Saber, with me!"

The two Decepticons turning their fire back towards the herald, Optimus and his subordinate jumped into the air. With little fanfare, Wing Saber split apart into four pieces, his lower legs staying mostly the same while the rest of his body shifted into a pair of jet-equipped armored limbs. His chest opening to reveal the Matrix embedded within and a second helmet forming over his first, the four components locked into place on the Autobot leader's arms and legs, forming the Sonic Assault Mode. With a sudden burst of speed, Optimus shot skyward before diving down towards his opponent, weapons blazing.

It wasn't luck that the Autobot leader and the jet had found out about their new combining process. In fact, it was Red Alert's insistence to immediately perform examinations on those that had been affected by the two Artifacts after the Battle of Long Peaks, not wanting anymore surprises in such a short time. Jetfire didn't lament his loss of linking up with Optimus, stating that it was for the better as two high ranking officers with such a capability - especially the Autobot leader and his Aerial Commander - made pretty big targets. Jetfire also cheerfully commented that it would drive Magnus and the medics up the wall on the data work if something drastic happened to either of the commanders, to which Red Alert "accidentally" administered an upgrade via the more painful method.

Nemesis Prime weathered the assault and simply laughed. "Another combined form? Willing to risk your tin soldiers so easily, Prime?"

A blow to his faceplate. "I don't risk them. They chose to fight alongside me." His fire halted, and Scourge rushed in, axe swinging and slamming hard against Nemesis Prime as Optimus pulled back and switched configurations. The parts of Wing Saber that covered his arms shifted, becoming armor for his legs, while those components that armored his legs now changed for his arms into Heavy Assault Mode.

Optimus landed with a thud, aimed his weapons as Scourge jumped to cover, and then opened fire with the numerous guns and cannons, blasting away at Nemesis Prime with little effort. Each part that was torn off regenerated immediately, the process repeating each time.

"Impressive firepower," Nemesis Prime admitted with a dark laugh. "But you will need to do much better than that!"

* * *

With numerous leaps and jumps, webbing streaming from her spinnerets, Crystal Widow practically danced between a pair of massive trees, a bright purple web forming in her wake. "You sure this'll work?"

"_Spider's webbing is amazingly strong, and should be more than enough to trap Darkwing. At worst, it will at least slow her down, distract her from Cheetor, and turn her attention towards all else we have waiting for her. I know my traps, Crystal, and this is a fine one." _

The Autobot spider hoped that Wreckloose was right, catching sight of Cheetor darting through the air briefly as she finished her web. "Well, let's see what we can do. Web's set!"

"_Then make distance! Cheetor, we're ready!"_

Crystal jumped from the trees just as the feline veered towards the waiting web, his pursuer following. Chain blades launching after him every couple seconds, Cheetor dodged with just enough time to duck under the web and let Darkwing fly right into it.

Her momentum caused the web to tear from its mounts, taking chunks of wood and boulders with it and wrapping the web around her. She spun wildly with a loud angry shriek, attempting to transform but finding her efforts impeded by the web, before finally managing to transform as she fell into a dense growth of plants.

As Darkwing tried to rip herself out, Wreckloose slunk through the foliage in his beast mode before whipping out a long cannon. Three shots of pasty white adhesive were fired, eventually pinning their target in place.

"Most impressive," Backstop admitted as he emerged from hiding, the rest of their group following. "She won't move then?"

"Between my webs and the putty, she's stuck and can't attack. We're good."

A mirthless smile. "Fools. You've accomplished nothing, save making yourselves targets."

Footfalls surrounded them in the jungle. Crystal turned to look, her additional optics suddenly exposed and widened in shock. "You gotta be kidding me!"

Shambling towards them, their optics dark and blank and their bodies showing damage incurred earlier, were the remaining Terrorcons.

"Reanimated corpses," the Decepticon dryly noted. "This is going to be fun."

* * *

Despite the firepower raining down on him and doing little damage, Dreadwing casually inched up the steps to the temple's summit. The lone Mini-Con in his company either not linked up with him or being wielded as a combined weapon cackled at his side.

"These fools think they can hold us in check?" Sunburn cawed in laughter, eager to begin tearing through the resistance awaiting her. "They'd do better to hold back the tide."

Just within the temple walls, Lennox watched as the first line of defense gradually backed away at Dreadwing's approach. "Any ideas about getting past that shield?!"

"He's just using it for cover!" A few quick thoughts raced through Beta Maxx's processors. "Overcast! Once he gets up here…!"

"He'll fire all guns and blow us apart!" the aerospace fighter reasoned. A quick glance towards Snarl was met with a nod, and the Autobot called out, "Mirage, get your team ready! Predacon, get to cover!"

The Decepticon tech-org nodded, and signaled the others to pull to one side. They kept fire up as Dreadwing at last reached the summit.

"NOW!"

A glimmer in the herald's eye, he tossed the shield up and deployed additional guns from his arms, opening fire with all of them at once. As he fired, the members of the Race Team moved in unison, combining into the Skyboom Shield as Overcast rushed forward and took hold. The beams of energy bent in their course and blasted towards the shield, exploding on impact but otherwise doing no damage.

"Light him up!"

Overcast opened fire from behind the shield, the rest joining him in the attack. The gathered humans joined in, sabot rounds flying and tearing hard into Dreadwing's armor. He regenerated with each strike, absorbing the damage with each blast and showing little reaction otherwise.

With a high, tinny laugh, the herald surveyed those standing against him. "Your efforts are wasted. There is nothing you can do, and no one who can save you."

* * *

"For someone who carries the Autobot badge, you got a strange way of valuing the belief system… not to mention a lack of faith. I had a reputation too once upon a time, for being the kind of 'Bot who'd charge into battle head-first. Got me a lot of fame, but it didn't do much to earn me any popularity. No one wanted to get teamed up with someone who wouldn't watch their back."

The tech-org found himself, surprisingly enough, interested in Overhaul's story. "So you kept solo."

"Until a mission in the Tagon Heights. Got stuck under some debris during the fighting, and would've gotten slagged 'cept for one thing. I wasn't alone, 'cause Prime was backing me up the whole time. We're Autobots. We're never alone, and we're never forgotten. Even if it takes a miracle, we'll get through this."

Repugnus regarded him for a second before snickering. "Of all the absurd slag I've heard… Yes, a miracle might save us, but don't count on it. Miracles don't happen as often as you'd think."

The door to the medical bay slid open, and a bright green light washed over them. "Prepare yourself then – you're about to experience one for yourselves." Draco Prime entered, the Key of Power held in his hand, and regarded them both. "There is no way for Topspin, or anyone, to extract your sparks, and very little which can purge the virus from your systems. Only one answer exists which can save you, and I hold the key to it."

"Wait a nano…" Overhaul tried to sit up, but slipped back down onto the berth when pain lanced through again. "You can do that?"

"Do what?"

"Early in the stellar cycle back on Earth, the humans called it the Battle of Pikes Peak. Several of us – Autobots, Decepticons, Mini-Cons – got beat up pretty good. Suddenly a flash of light came down out of the sky, all act-of-Primus like, and reformatted a bunch of 'em. We found out later it was the Key of Wisdom, triggered by the Matrix."

"The Artifacts of Primus are connected, in more ways than one." A slot emerged near the base of the dragon's neck on his left arm, and Draco Prime plugged in the Key.

"But that was two artifacts together." The brawler's optics widened. "Just one by itself…"

"…Will need to be enough." The elder Prime pointed his arm directly at the two, energies beginning to gather in the dragon's maw. "And if it is not… Well, who wants to live forever?"

The energies of the Key of Power soon poured out, bathing the two in brilliant green light. Draco Prime quickly grabbed his left arm to steady it, feet spreading apart and straining to keep his concentration. He wasn't sure if using the Key in such a fashion was the best idea, but right now, his options were severely limited.

'_Primus… __**Creator**__… If you can hear me, I need you. _We_ need you.'_

* * *

Energy firing forth from his palms, Cheetor continued shooting burst after burst into the approaching Terrorcons. "They aren't stopping! Why aren't they stopping?!"

"They aren't stopping because they are not being injured." The faintest of smiles grew on Darkwing's face despite her bound state. "They aren't even alive anymore. Their sparks have been claimed, and now they simply serve."

"So they're zombies, like the Mini-Cons Dreadwing and Nemesis Prime brought with them…" A thought occurring to her, Crystal slung a web towards a nearby rock, pulling and then swinging the improvised hammer to build momentum before releasing it. The rock flew, smashing into Command Ravage's head and tearing it off. "Go up close! Aim for the limbs and break them apart!"

A flash of green and silver light, and twin antler-like prongs emerged from Wreckloose's shield, the Decepticon warrior charging forward and smashing into the shambling Cruellock. One of the dead Terrorcon's arms was torn off, flying to the ground in seconds, and the living warrior continued.

Shrugging at his comrade's suggestion, Cheetor pulled out his melee weapon, a long whip with a hooked blade at the end that formed his tail in beast mode, and charged in. He took a hard swipe at Shadowhawk, digging hard into the Terrorcon's left shoulder and leaving very little of the arm connected. Only a few stray wires kept it attached, prompting the cheetah to kick at his opponent to dislodge it. What was left of the Terrorcon was delayed, but quickly got back up again.

As the others battled their attackers, Backstop turned, his ancient optics focused on their captive.

"Afraid, old mech?"

As what was once Insecticon approached him, he turned ever slightly, activated his Cyber Key ability, and extended the crimson horn upon his beast mode head. The blow undid the light welding job performed upon the zombie, splitting him back apart and sending both halves to the ground.

"I do not fear the dead. It is the living who concern me most."

Utterly calm, the old master sat, curled his legs as if in meditation, and kept his optics focused upon Darkwing. The others would handle themselves just fine, whereas he had a task to complete.

* * *

The Skyboom Shield and the Magnawing Shield collided, Overcast firing his jets to the maximum and providing pressure against Dreadwing, whose heels were digging into stone. Much to the Autobot's credit and that of his allies, the herald had made little progress, weapons fire still pouring onto him and the lone Mini-Con marching alongside him.

"Give up, sparkling. You live on borrowed time, only because my master allowed it."

Energy building up between the two shields, the aerospace fighter narrowed his optics in determination. "Well, he obviously didn't think ahead too much, did he?"

A miniature explosion detonated when the energies between the shields finally peaked, and the two shields split apart into their separate Mini-Con components. The Speed Chasers quickly recovered, then charged their opponents. Deployed blades from Top Gear were quickly met by those from Mirage, hand-fired energy bursts from Midship were dodged by Dirt Boss, and blasts of compressed air from Tailslide were nimbly avoided by Downshift. Dreadwing did not recover as quickly, the two Aqua Raiders linked with him being jettisoned from their ports as Overcast barreled straight into the herald for several seconds before pulling away from his opponent and firing his cannon at the assault speedboat.

"Argh! These dogs will pay, mates!" Bilge cried out as he transformed to robot mode, firing his cannon.

Their fire was met by a quick volley from the Sky Defense Team and the Army Rangers, the projectiles exploding before they made impact.

"Meeting fire from a distance? This is what we do, sea rats!" Steamhammer countered.

His Energon weapon providing additional fire against the attacker, Topspin peppered the wraith with energy bursts. "You've fought these things before, yes?!"

"Not personally, but Optimus could fight them!" Landquake answered. "The odds are in our favor!" A quick glance back, and he asked, "And all of you aren't helping because?!"

"No long-range armaments!" Undermine explained.

The Decepticon tank shook his head. "Poor excuse!"

Topspin was about to agree before his internal sensors flared off, signaling him that something was wrong inside. But none of their enemies had gotten inside, and the alarms only went off for emergency reasons… _Draco?_

* * *

The ancient collapsed to one knee, his systems protesting after such intense usage of his given artifact. No longer able to hold himself up, Draco tipped forward, only to be caught by a pair of powerful, clawed hands.

Clear worry in the unchanged voice. "Are you…?"

He waved it off weakly, despite his vision pixelating. "I am unimportant. Go. You have greater problems."

The reformatted Autobot lifted up the old Prime over one shoulder. "Repugnus, give me a hand!"

The load became lighter. "You're getting four." The two carried the ancient over to the berth where Scorponok had rested earlier, and gently laid him upon it as well tucking the Key of Power next to him. As the two departed, Repugnus called out, "Heal up, old timer! I don't like letting mechs die when I owe 'em!"

* * *

"We're running low on ammo, Lennox!" Epps yelled, reloading his launcher as Donnelly took over on firing.

"Kinda figured on that!" Lennox snarled as he turned away, ducking when part of the rocky cover exploded near his head. "These things just don't die!"

"You think?!" Witwicky tossed back, adrenaline pumping and shooting in tandem with Mulderrig.

"_Captain, everyone, look out! You've got backup, coming in fast!"_

The Army captain looked up just in time to watch as a deep brown, black, white and emerald blur raced past them, jumping over Overcast, leaving deep gashes in Dreadwing's armor as it leapfrogged over the herald, then rushed down the building and into the jungles.

"Holy shit! What was that?!"

Trisler's query, while echoed by everyone in the unit, didn't have an immediate answer as they were quickly distracted by another yell.

"Outta my way!"

Their heads turned as a flame-colored _spinosaur_ charged towards them. Much as the brown blur had done, the dinosaur jumped into the air, over Overcast, and landed hard on the herald, pushing him back before jumping off and skidding to a halt.

"Undermine, he–!"

Brimstone's surprised cry was halted as the fiery _spinosaur_ unleashed a brilliant glow, parts shifting and morphing. The saurian head became a pair of long arms, the beast mode arms curling up against the chest and shifting slightly to allow for two fingers and a thumb. Legs lengthened, and the mace-tipped tail popped from its place and locked onto one of the longer limbs. Revealed as the arms finished forming, a goldenrod face looked upon the herald as he recovered.

"So you're a herald of Unicron, huh?" Repugnus smiled, swinging the mace and balling his smaller, clawed hands into fists. He swung hard, making contact with the much larger Transformer. "So far, I'm not impressed!"

* * *

Twin sickle-like blades popping from his legs, Nemesis Prime tore into his opponents, sending Scorponok flying to one side and Scourge a few moments later. He then threw the blades, hitting Optimus Prime square in the chest and forcing him back before pressing him against an immense tree.

"I must admit, it has been fun facing you again. But did you honestly think that you could defeat me with one of your troopers and two beasts as assistance?"

Laser bursts from four directions prompted the herald back, allowing the Autobot leader a moment to recover. "Actually, I did. But on the off chance that wasn't enough, I called in an old friend."

A loud rumble issued out from above, the sound of engine fire coming in loud and clear. Recovering from the laser shots, Nemesis turned towards the new arrival and was soundly shot from above, a heavy burst of energy lancing down upon him. At the opposite end was a massive spacecraft, one half resembling a seagoing battleship and the other a construction vehicle, an enormous cannon at its bow firing down at the false Prime. As he recovered from the damage taken, the ship transformed with uncanny speed, tremors created from the wake of his landing and very much towering over all of the combatants.

Omega Supreme's optics narrowed as he regarded his opponent. "You end is now, herald. Prepare for extinction."

A volley of missiles detonated against the giant Autobot, causing him to stumble back a few steps as Scourge recovered himself. "You called him in?"

"We needed all the firepower we could get." Optimus turned to the Animatros governor. "Scourge, the Dead Matrix he carries is contained within his chest. If we can take it from him and get it far enough away to safely destroy it..."

"Then we'll be able to weaken him. His chest, yes?"

"We just need to expose it."

Scorponok clicked his pinchers together. "Leave that to me. Give me cover."

Optimus separated from Wing Saber, who transformed back to vehicle mode and took to the air. "A little aerial bombardment never hurt!"

* * *

Repugnus' mace crashed hard against Dreadwing's chest, tearing off armor as quickly as it grew back. The smaller mech dodged each swipe and blow from the larger, still getting in his hits.

"Foolish, tiny sparkling. I am death."

A smirk. "If you're death, then why am I still alive?"

The herald reached out to grab his smaller opponent's throat, only to be greeted by a green and silver flash of light and a red blade slicing down through his hand. Dreadwing howled in pain, his hand and most of his left arm torn apart.

Realization dawning upon him, Snarl transformed to beast mode and charged, activating his own Cyber Key Ability and bearing long yellow fangs. He leapt up onto the white speedboat and bit hard upon the strut leading to one of his overhead cannons, tearing it loose and eliciting further roars from his opponent. Undermine and Brimstone followed, deploying their Cyber Key-activated blades and chopping hard into Dreadwing, tearing away more of his armaments. Dinobot and Divebomb followed, Energon blades tearing open further gaps in the herald's armor.

"That was for our unit!" the condor crowed as the remaining defenders opened fire.

* * *

Scorponok tore hard into Nemesis Prime's chest as Wing Saber peppered the herald with his cannons from overhead. "Something wrong, abomination? Feeling pain? It's nothing compared to what you put me through!"

The herald opened fire with his cannon, forcing the Decepticon away. "Your claws are useless against me, beast." He fired his missiles once more, the Autobot flier barely dodging. "This hunt is mine, and there is nothing which can save you."

A lion's roar rang out through the forests, prompting the false Prime's attention as a brown blur shot past him, tearing off one of his shoulder pads and the tusk adorning it. The blur skid to a halt, revealing a massive brown and white lion, red optics glistening dangerously.

"This isn't your hunt anymore," the robot feline growled.

Two sets of optics widened in surprise, Optimus and Scourge saying at once, "Overhaul?"

The feline transformed, rear legs straightening, forelegs becoming arms, torso shifting and a head emerging from his back, a long sweeping bit of mane streaming from the back. "Surprised, boss? New look, courtesy of Draco Prime." Crushing the bit of armor in his hands, he added, "And it's not Overhaul anymore – call me Leobreaker!"

Clutching the area where his armor was torn from, Nemesis stared at the reformatted Autobot for a moment before giving a dark chuckle. "So, one of the Thirteen IS here. And as we speak, Dreadwing marches towards him. He will be dead before this is done."

Activation of his Cyber Key and claws deployed on each of Leobreaker's arms. "Not gonna happen!" Without further aplomb, the feline shot forward far faster than his original speed and began slicing at the herald's chest plate furiously, continuing where Scorponok had started and leaving it hanging on by mere shards of armor. Before Nemesis could react, Leobreaker cracked the whip that formed his tail around the black mech's neck after jumping back. "Scourge!"

With a savage cry, the leader of the Jungle Planet swung his axe and sheared the second layer of armor from Nemesis Prime's chest, revealing the Dead Matrix held within.

As the chest piece flew away, charged energy formed around Omega Supreme's right hand, surging outwards like lightning and enveloping the unholy artifact before ripping it out from the herald's chest. Seconds later, the artifact was sent rocketing skywards with increasing speed as fragments of the frame fell away to reveal the Doom Stone at its core. As it reached the upper limits of Animatros' atmosphere, a small bit of debris hit the crystalline sphere, forming a small crack in its surface.

* * *

At the temple, a sudden flash was visible in the skies above, prompting almost everyone to flinch away at the unexpected brightness to rival a very powerful flashlight. "What the hell was that?!" Donnelly yelled, nearly dropping a grenade.

Without warning, the six Mini-Cons that were aiding Dreadwing convulsed and shook, seizures tearing through their forms. Mirage backed away from his opponent as Top Gear stopped shaking, his armor shifting in color to various shades of gray and black before falling lifelessly to the ground.

Giving a very loud shriek of dismay, Dreadwing shot into the air, flying away from the gathered defenders. "The Doom Stone is shattered! Nemesis has fallen! Our work, undone!" He quickly disappeared from view, his screeching fading away.

"So that flash wasn't a nuke or something?" Epps looked to his commander, blinking furiously and wishing the spots would disappear faster. "Then what was it?"

Lennox scrubbed his eyes. "You got me, but something tells me we shouldn't be complaining."

* * *

The pieces of the Terrorcons stopped moving, what energies driving them fading away fast as dark wisps seemed to evaporate from Darkwing's body. The spikes that had formed on her back shrank and faded, leaving her with her normal form, control slipping away and colors changing back to Talon's familiar scheme. With a faint groan, the femme collapsed in the bindings holding her, prompting Crystal to step forward as Backstop rose to his feet.

"Is she alright?" the tech-org asked, worried but still cautious.

"I believe so, yes. Exhausted, but otherwise unharmed." He began cutting away at the web and removing the putty. "While Darkwing's presence fading along with Unicron's energies was unexpected, I see no reason to complain."

The Harrier began to stir, her optics brightening as she came fully back online. "Crystal? W-what happened?"

The spider smiled. "You had a long nightmare, Talon. But it's all over."

* * *

Leobreaker gave a bark of laughter when their opponent suddenly went limp, recalling back his whip. "That takes care of..."

The Autobot was tossed aside, Nemesis Prime slamming hard into him. Like a rabid beast, the herald looked about madly, attacking whatever was closest.

"Destroying the Dead Matrix didn't destroy him." The Autobot leader's optics narrowed as he dodged, Nemesis transforming to his mammoth alt-mode in an attempt to gore his opponents. "It's just left him rabid. We have to end this."

"Then we end this now!" A flash of light, and Scorponok opened fire with his tail cannon, hitting the large pachyderm on the head but doing little damage. All he got for his efforts was a gash torn from his armor, answered by a howl of pain.

"ENOUGH!" Scourge at last activated his Cyber Key ability, twin dragon heads emerging from his back and over his shoulders, roaring as they came online and billowing red hot flames.

Fire bathed over the herald's form, burning away mats of fur and exposing circuitry underneath. As he began to shift back, Omega turned to Optimus and declared, "It is time."

"Let's go!"

Optimus jumped into the air as Omega Supreme shifted, splitting apart down the middle as his head flew into a compartment over his right shoulder. A rack of missile launchers was exposed as the two halves combined again, enveloping the Prime's transformed body. His outer helmet came into place, completing the rarely combined Supreme Assault Mode.

The elder guardian had kept silent of his capability to link up with Optimus after Galvatron's assault and only revealed it when the backup teams were being assembled to support the search teams, his claims backed up by one of Red Alert's assistants. On learning the possibility of facing some of Unicron's heralds, Omega offered additional firepower, to which Prime gladly accepted.

Before what was left of Nemesis Prime could react, his opposite opened fire. Wing Saber adding in supporting fire from above, Optimus attacked. Missiles flew from their launchers; cannons spewed forth energy bursts, and Omega's main gun, now at the end of his left arm, fired off a blast of brilliant blue energy. The herald was caught in the blast and, with a final roar, disintegrated.

His job done, Optimus separated from Omega Supreme and dropped to one knee. A sudden twinge before warmth spread through his chest, a signal from the Matrix – countless sparks were free, returning to whence they came. Familiar faces, minds, memories… but none of those whom he feared were lost. Especially her…

Before he could begin to ponder this new information, Scourge rushed forward to Scorponok's side. "Brother! Speak to me!"

Despite the injury to his torso, Scorponok laughed heartily. "I'm alright, brother. I'm alright."

A smile spreading across his face, the Decepticon dragon lifted one of his sibling's claws, held it tight, and joined him in his joy.

Beneath his faceplate, Optimus smiled. Before he could join them, his communicator chirped. "Yes?"

"_Optimus, the attack on the temple's been beaten off,"_ Sparkplug reported, voice sounding anything but happy, _"but… something's happened to Draco Prime."_

* * *

The ancient lay upon his berth, optics soft in the heavy glow of the lights above him. Optimus and Scourge entered just as Breakaway lifted his hands from Draco's chest, Topspin watching from the side with the Key of Power tightly held in his arms. He looked upon the two leaders, a smile clear upon his face. "I never thought this would happen."

The lights above him dimmed and faded, and Draco Prime sat up, his wings now whole and unscarred. He looked upon the two younger leaders, joy clear upon his face. "It seems we've all won today."

"You used the Key of Power to reformat Overhaul and Repugnus," Optimus reasoned. "All that power going through you…"

"There was a risk, but would you not have done the same?" He flexed, balling his hand into a fist for a second before transforming, wings spread wide as he stood before them as a magnificent cobalt dragon rivaling Scourge's draconic alt-mode. "I am healed, and the Key is safe. We've won."

* * *

"So the Mini-Cons attacking us falling down dead happened because…?"

"Their sparks were torn from them ages ago, probably before the _Exodus_ launched from Cybertron." Mirage and Lennox watched as Dirt Boss and Thunderblast lifted the prone body of Top Gear into a waiting stasis container. "Their sparks, along with I don't know how many other sparks and souls, were contained inside of the stone embedded in Nemesis Prime. When it was destroyed, they all passed on, and their bodies finally died."

"So no more robot zombies. Can't say I don't feel too bad for them." The Army captain turned as the two Primes and the leader of Animatros approached, Diana in tow. "And you and that Omega Supreme guy combining?"

"Omega Supreme and the Omega Sentinels who share his body frame were built to interface with drones similar to the ones I combine with for my battle mode. Wing Saber can interface with them in turn. Once we realized Wing Saber and I could combine, it wasn't much of a leap to assume further compatibility. This is just the only time it's been justified."

"And the Key?"

"A complete reformat was the only way to save Overhaul and Repugnus," Draco explained. "And the only way to accomplish that was the use of the Key of Power. The only risk there was my overusing it – too much power flowing through me from the artifact, and my systems would tear themselves apart. I would not die from the virus, but between the influx of power and what cumulative wear I'd been subjected to as a result of Topspin's radiation treatments. Had Breakaway not been present, I don't know what would have transpired." Flexing his hand, he gave a small smile. "For now at least, I am safe and alive."

"Speaking of the reformatting, any ideas why I'm bigger now?" Leobreaker flexed his claws. "Not that I mind or anything, but back on Earth, Red and the others got smaller when they reformatted, not bigger."

"The virus in your system may well have been more severe than in Repugnus. Other than that, it is truly hard to say." Draco turned to his fellow Prime. "Now, as Unicron's heralds have been defeated and current crisis is past, I think we are more than safe in taking the Key home." Pulling the item from where it rested, he smiled. "It has been too long since it or I have seen Primus, and it will be good to return to native land."

"I must protest." Eyes and optics turned to Scourge. "The Key should return to Cybertron, but after all this, I can't let it go without seeing it there myself. My government can last a few mega-cycles without me, and I suspect I'll be needed."

Optimus nodded. "That's a condition I can agree to. Now, what will you do about the Terrorcons?"

"They surrendered to me, which makes them my problem. Keep the Dinobots from visiting the planetary stockade and they will see a fair trial. Otherwise…" A nasty smirk. "Well, its fortunate Divebomb won't be anywhere near a volcano."

* * *

"So that's what those things are for." Talon inspected her hands, optics focused on the small ports in her palms where Darkwing had deployed her Energon siphons earlier against Scorponok. "Does explain why I never came back feeling drained after she took over. Darkwing must've drained Energon from everything she fought to replenish power."

"And considering your low energy consumption and usual focus on handmade explosive rounds, you probably limited her excuses." Backstop regarded her with uneasy optics. "Still, this highlights why we need to deal with this. Darkwing was barely under control before, and having had a taste of Unicron's power, I doubt she will be easy to hold back in the future."

The femme nodded. "You think you can help me?"

A pat on the head from the old rhino. "Young one, if I can temper a dragon's fire and a wolf's howl, then I can certainly try to heal a fractured spark. But you must be willing to accept my help, and stop running from this problem."

Talon regarded her hands for a moment, curling and uncurling her fingers as she considered her options. "It's a little hard to do after a while. But after all I've been through, maybe it's time I tried to solve the problem rather than live with it." She smiled. "I'm game."

* * *

"So what'll happen to this temple?" Misha looked around, quickly finding the deep gashes and burn marks left in the battle's wake. "I mean, won't _Lemuria_ be needed? When it comes online, it'll…"

"Destroy the temple built upon it, like Longhorn said." A smile crossed Crystal Widow's face. "Assuming, of course, the Autobot Corps of Engineers can't disassemble the temple soon enough to clear the way. And once _Lemuria_'s gone and they can figure out how, the temple should be rebuilt just the way we found it."

"Good news all around then." Kicker gave a relieved sigh, having also returned the rifle back to the Rangers. "I'm just glad we're done and heading home."

A smothered giggle as the young woman hugged his arm. "Don't tell me you hated your visit to another planet."

"It's not that. I'm just looking forward to being on a planet where we won't get shot at all the time. More peaceful that way. Plus it'd be nice to have a shower or something."

"Yeah, you are beginning to stink." A surprised look and Misha lightly jabbed him. "Kidding!"

The tech-org laughed. The trip had definitely done them, and her, a little good, and she was glad she'd come.

* * *

"No argument from me, this was definitely one of the more exciting missions we've had." Donnelly laughed as the gathered soldiers collected their gear. "What about you, doc? Most exciting trip you've ever been on, huh?"

Diana smiled, running a hand through messy hair. "Close. There was this one time in Italy I got shot at by a drunken police officer during one Christmas. I'm just lucky he was a poor shot."

As the soldiers started egging on the archaeologist about the full details, Mirage watched, gently laying a hand on the stasis unit containing the remains of his former opposite. "I'm sorry, brother. You didn't deserve this. Wherever you are now, I hope you're at peace."

"He is, most likely." Beta Maxx approached, dipping his head respectfully. "I wonder how this will affect the rest of the teams, however – without the Magnawing Shield active, the remaining Core Weapons won't be nearly as powerful."

"Maybe, but last I checked, there was more to us than a fancy toy for the bulks." He turned away from the stasis unit. "What about you? Heading back with us, or staying with Overcast and Skyfall?"

"As tempting as that sounds, they still need my assistance. Even with Topspin found, there's still one more of that group missing. And once I can finally manage to tell them where to go and whom they need to look for, they'll need me to point them in the right direction."

* * *

"Sensei, a word?"

Backstop lifted his gaze from his cup of Energon. "Of course, Snarl. What is it you wish to know?"

The white wolf collected his thoughts carefully while sitting down. "You kept the location of the Key from Scourge. Did you fear him locking it away?"

"In part, but also it being exposed." The old master swirled his cup, watching the ripples play in the setting sunlight streaming through the temple windows. "Scourge did not understand then that the Key, as powerful as it is, is merely a piece of the solution. No one mech or femme can do everything, and we are always stronger together than we are apart."

"I thought he knew that a long time ago."

A light rumble. "It never hurts to get a reminder." Scourge approached and gave a small bow before kneeling down to one knee. "Sensei, thank you. If you could, there is something else I would appreciate you doing for my sake."

Backstop held up a hand, anticipating his student's question. "My apologies, Scourge, but the rigors of leadership are too much for one of my age. I will counsel whoever you appoint to fill the void, but no more." He gestured his head towards Scorponok, and added, "I will, however, give a recommendation."

The dragon couldn't help but laugh a little. "I'll consider that." He turned to his lieutenant. "Snarl, aid him. Keep an optic upon Scorponok, help him where you can. I don't know how well he has healed, but either way, he will need the assistance."

A smile. "You have my word, old friend."

* * *

The _Flash Frenzy_ rumbled as it rose into the air, ascending out of view as the search team and its reinforcements descended the temple staircase. As they reached the bottom, the gathered human troops climbed onto the waiting Omega Supreme, glad to have a ride rather than troop through the jungles one more time, even if it meant a longer trip.

"So, you think they've had it this badly on Velocitron?" Kicker quipped as he climbed into the massive Autobot's passenger compartment.

"We'll find out when we get back, won't we?" Diana replied as the door closed behind her.

The gathered Autobots and Decepticons transformed to their vehicle modes, Mini-Con partners linking up with their bulk allies and the two teams bonding with whoever was available. They departed into the jungle, a select few watching them depart from its summit.

"So, you don't mind that Repugnus looks like you now."

"Better looking like me than scrapping me, Brimstone."

Backstop chuckled at Undermine's argument. "There is some wisdom in that."

"So… What're we gonna do until Roadblock gets here?" Talon asked.

A deck of cards emerged from a compartment in Brimstone's arm. "Ever play Praxus Hold'em?"

Scorponok fought a groan, opting to face palm instead. "You're still playing that?"

"What? It's fun! Besides, I gotta win back my credits somehow!"

Wreckloose snickered. "May as well. Deal me in."

The End


End file.
